Louis Pastore — who had the four-inch long kitchen carver tucked in his trouser waistband — also asked told two psychiatric nurses: “So you want me to cause chaos?” The frightening incident came after the staff decided that 25-year-old Pastore’s mental condition was not a cause for concern.

Police had recovered rubber gloves, binoculars, lighter fluid and matches from him during a search prior to his medical examination.

But the officers failed to find the knife, which Pastore presented at the male and female nurses after he had been left alone with them.

Prosecutor Lindy Scaife told Greenock Sheriff Court that Pastore was ‘not happy’ at being informed that he was deemed to have no mental illness.

The fiscal depute said: “The accused was told that he would not be detained under the Mental Health Act. He pulled out a four-inch black handled kitchen knife from the rear of his trouser waistband. He said, ‘So you want me to cause chaos?’.” The court heard that the male nurse instructed Pastore to put the blade down during the 3.45am incident at Inverclyde Royal, right, on 31 March.

Mrs Scaife said: “He did that and told both nurses to leave the room. The police came in and saw that the accused had the knife in his right hand. He was again told to put it down.

“He was asked by the police where he had got the knife from and replied, ‘I had it with me the whole time’.” The court was told that Pastore’s friends had called an ambulance to a flat in Gourock hours earlier amid worries over his state of mind.

Mrs Scaife said that he told paramedics that he wanted to be taken to the hospital regarding an ‘unspecified mental illness’. Pastore — who had been facing a possible jury trial on the matter — admitted to unlawful possession of the knife and presenting it in a threatening or abusive manner at the medical staff.

His lawyer David Tod told the court that Pastore had subsequently been diagnosed as suffering from depression.

Mr Tod said: “Although it was not diagnosed at the time, he was suffering from depression on the day he was arrested. His friends phoned the ambulance because he was threatening to self-harm.

“He was concerned for his own mental state. He thought there had been a misdiagnosis.” Mr Tod added: “He never had any intention to assault anybody. He accepts that the staff would have been scared and he is sorry for that.” Sheriff Craig Turnbull remarked: “It is very strange that he’s searched in the hospital and nothing appears to have been found.” The lawman jailed Pastore for eight months, backdating the sentence to when he was first remanded in custody on 1 April.

He told him: “Behaviour of this kind cannot be tolerated.”