An Ipswich shopkeeper who was allegedly confronted by a man holding a knife tried to calm him down, a court has heard.

Karokh Ali told a jury at Ipswich Crown Court that he went to his convenience store at the corner of Surrey Road and Sirdar Road on June 23 last year and saw a man causing a disturbance.

Mr Ali said the man was shouting and screaming and had an “angry face”.

The man kept saying: “What? What?” to some people standing nearby and Mr Ali saw he was holding a knife by his side.

Mr Ali said that he had tried to calm the man down and told him to stop.

He said the incident had been fast moving and he may have pushed the man back when he got within a metre of him.

He said the incident had ended when some people had pulled the man away.

Before the court is Derrel Youngs, 28, of no fixed address, who has denied affray and threatening a person with a knife.

Youngs was allegedly seen throwing bottles and shouting and swearing by members of the public, including a taxi driver in Surrey Road.

When the taxi driver tried to calm him down, Youngs allegedly threatened to “bottle” him and shortly afterwards he was seen arguing with Mr Ali, said Matthew Sorel-Cameron, prosecuting.

Youngs allegedly said he was “going to kill everyone” and had then produced a large knife measuring around 40cm and pointed it at the shopkeeper.

The police were called and an officer allegedly saw Youngs taking off his jumper and throwing it into a garden in Bulwer Road.

When the officer looked in the garden she also found some tracksuit bottoms and a T-shirt which matched the description of the clothing worn by the man seen with the knife in Surrey Road, said Mr Sorel-Cameron.

Other officers located Youngs at his grandfather’s house in Bulwer Road and described him as being “agitated and sweating”.

Youngs was arrested and declined to answer questions during interview.

He was later picked out in a video identification procedure by the taxi driver.

The trial continues.