A MAN who brandished a knife in a Job Centre in Ebbw Vale and subjected staff to a "terrifying" ordeal has been jailed.

Ian Littlewood, 47, became 'irate' and started shouting after being told he would not receive employment support allowance at Job Centre Plus at the Civic Centre in Ebbw Vale on November 24 last year.

Littlewood, who previously pleaded guilty to threatening another with a bladed article, brandished a knife and said “this is going to have to be sorted out” to one of the staff.

He was also sentenced for causing criminal damage, assault by beating, being in breach of a conditional discharge and theft at Cardiff Crown Court yesterday.

John Lloyd, prosecuting, said a security guard intervened when the knife was brandished but Littlewood grabbed him and held the knife above his head.

Terrified staff at the centre fled to a secure room but Littlewood pursued them, kicking down the glass door.

In a victim impact statement read out in court, one staff member said: “I was terrified.

“The knife was so close. I wondered which part of my body he was going to stick it in.

“I feared for my life.”

Another said Littlewood, of no fixed abode, held the knife "as though he was going to kill someone," saying she feared somebody was going to be hurt.

A 'brave' security guard continued to attempt to calm the situation, said Mr Lloyd, before eventually the knife was handed over. The incident lasted around 10 minutes.

Jeffrey Jones, defending, said Littlewood had not eaten for several days and was “desperate” at the time of the incident.

The defendant’s benefits had been stopped because he had failed to attend a medical appointment, the court heard. He said Littlewood had been sleeping rough and had previously used the knife for opening tins of food. Mr Jones pointed out no one was injured in the incident.

Judge Jeremy Jenkins, sentencing, said Littlewood's behaviour was 'unforgivable.'

He said: "Each of the staff has been changed in their personality and never again will they be able to work in the relaxed atmosphere that they had."

Littlewood, who has 86 previous convictions for 236 offences, was sentenced to 34 months.