A man has been warned he could face jail for threatening to stab his ex-partner's new boyfriend.

Luke Hutchinson appeared at Suffolk Magistrates' Court last Friday, expecting to be sentenced for making threats to kill, following the preparation of a report by the probation service.

But magistrates decided their sentencing powers were insufficient and committed the matter to the crown court for a later date.

Prosecutor Colette Harper said the offence took place at about 8.15pm on January 8, when Hutchinson's ex-partner attended his address to collect their children.

"He pushed past her as she stood in the doorway and headed down an alleyway towards where her partner was waiting in a car," she told the court.

Mrs Harper said Hutchinson returned to the property and emerged holding a hunting knife in a threatening manner in his left hand.

The 33-year-old, of High Road, Great Finborough, then threatened to stab his ex-partner's new boyfriend, who later told police he had been forced to quit work as a taxi driver after previously being approached and intimidated by Hutchinson since the relationship began last February.

Mrs Harper invited magistrates to decline jurisdiction and commit sentencing to the crown court, while imposing a 12-month restraining order preventing Hutchinson from making any contact with his ex-partner or her new boyfriend.

Hutchinson, who admitted the offence at an earlier hearing on May 28 and appeared without legal representation in court, told magistrates: "I wish I could take it back, but I can't.

"I've changed my life and I'm actively trying to do better.

"I wish I could apologise to the people who've been affected by it."

Hutchinson said he was taking steps to address an alcohol problem and had recently begun a plumbing apprenticeship.

Magistrates sent the matter for sentencing at Ipswich Crown Court on July 22.

The bench released Hutchinson on bail with a condition to not contact his ex-partner or her new boyfriend.