A man who was caught playing around with a toy gun on the street was found to have a hunting knife in his pocket, a court has heard.

Knike Miller, 19, had been fooling about with his partner in the King Street area of Great Yarmouth.

Norwich Crown Court heard the defendant had been fooling around with a toy gun when he was picked up on CCTV.

Lynne Shirley, prosecuting, said police had been alerted after the defendant was spotted on CCTV.

She said officers attended and Miller was found to be in possession of a hunting knife on May 24 this year.

The defendant, who had the knife in his trousers, said the weapon belonged to his grandfather.

Miller, of Nelson Road South, Yarmouth, appeared at court on Thursday for sentence having previously admitted possessing a knife in public.

The court heard the offence put him in beach of a suspended sentence - four months suspended for 18 months - imposed for a previous offence of possession of a bladed article.

Danielle O’Donovan, mitigating, said: “The reason he was stopped is that he and his partner were playing around with a toy gun on the street. It was bright blue. They were playing sillily with it and that’s what caught the police’s attention - nothing to do with the knife.”

Ms O’Donovan said Miller had the knife, which belonged to his grandfather, as he “wanted to feel close to his grandfather”.

She said the fact it was now going to inevitably be destroyed was “something that will weigh heavily on him”.

She said he has mental health issues but only wants to “participate fruitfully in our society even with these issues”.

Ms O’Donovan added he was a “young man doing all he can, with his own special difficulties to live a law abiding life.”

She said that while Miller’s previous offences might mean he meets the requirements to receive a mandatory minimum term of six months imprisonment she insisted that would be unjust in this defendant’s case.

Judge Andrew Shaw adjourned sentence until Friday, October 9 to allow reports to be completed.

He warned Miller: “It’s not looking good”.

But Judge Shaw said that he needed to know more about the defendant before he sentenced him.