A TEENAGER who terrified a town centre security guard by threatening to slash him has been fined £125.Matthew Livingstone, of Shakespeare Road, Ipswich, was fined at South East Suffolk Magistrates court after telling the guard that he would cut him with his knife.

A TEENAGER who terrified a town centre security guard by threatening to slash him has been fined £125.

Matthew Livingstone, of Shakespeare Road, Ipswich, was fined at South East Suffolk Magistrates court after telling the guard that he would cut him with his knife.

The guard told police that he had felt in fear of his life – although it transpired that Livingstone had not been carrying a knife.

The security guard at the Buttermarket shopping centre approached Livingstone to ask him to move his bicycle, sparking the incident on March 15.

The guard had been following the store's policy against retail crime in asking the 19-year-old to move his bike.

But as he was escorting Livingstone out of the centre Livingstone had become angry and threatened the guard by saying he would cut him with his knife.

Livingstone made a sudden movement and the guard restrained him by pinning him to the ground.

Police officers were called and Livingstone was arrested for threatening behaviour.

He was fined on Friday for the public order offence and for failing to attend an earlier hearing on September 11.

In mitigation, the court heard he had not turned up to his trial more than two weeks ago because he kept all his reminders in his mobile phone, which had been stolen. He was fined £20 for not answering to his bail.

The court was also told that he had not had a knife on him at the time of the offence.

Livingstone accepted he had been angry at his removal. He pleaded guilty to all offences.

He was fined him £80 for the public order offence and ordered him to pay £25 costs.