A former guardsman has admitted threatening a teenaged boy with a knife during a fracas in a car park at a seaside resort.

Jamie Perryman was living rough and suffering from psychiatric problems when he used a small knife in a violent incident at the Underfleet car park in Seaton.

He admitted affray and having a knife after the prosecution dropped charges of trying to take a car through blackmail and having a Gurkha-style kukri knife.

Ex-Coldstream Guardsman Perryman, aged 40, whose last address was Sea Hill, Seaton, admitted an affray and threatening another with a small knife in the Underfleet car park on April 29 this year.

Recorder Mr William Mousley, QC, adjourned sentence at Exeter Crown Court for a probation pre-sentence report and remanded Perryman in custody.

Mr Paul Grumbar, defending, said Perryman will need help in finding somewhere to live.

He also said he may seek help from the army for his psychological problems, which may have their origins in his years of service.