A taxi passenger fell asleep with a large knife in his possession - and said he was using it to peel mangoes.

Luther Francis gave the bizarre excuse when police were called to the vehicle by the cabbie after he passed out.

They found the 13-inch long knife knife in his possession and he said that he was preparing his breakfast with it.

Francis, 24, pleaded guilty to possessing a bladed article in public without lawful authority.

He was jailed for six months after magistrates heard that he had previous similar convictions on his record.

They included wounding using a screwdriver at a nightclub for which he was sentenced to eight years in custody.

Prosecutor Sharon Thompson said that at 7.30am on March 31 Francis caught a taxi from his home in Cowper Street, Leeds, to Huddersfield.

He got into the front passenger seat but then fell asleep and the driver feared that he was not going to get paid.

He pulled into a petrol station on Leeds Road in Mirfield and called police.

Miss Thompson said: "The officer attempted to rouse the defendant but he seemed to be under the influence of drink or drugs.

"He opened the front passenger door and as he leaned into the vehicle he saw an unknown orange object inside his hooded top.

Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now

"It was a large kitchen knife. He also removed a black sheath which was separated from the knife."

The orange handled kitchen knife was described as totalling 13 inches with a six-and-a-half inch blade.

Francis was arrested and said that he was going to a friend's house in Huddersfield and moving the knife between the addresses.

He said he didn't intend to harm anyone or use it on the taxi driver but was aware that carrying it in public was an offence.

Magistrates were told that in March 2012 Francis was sent to a young offender institution for 27 months for an offence of robbery.

Then in March 2014 he was locked up for eight years after stabbing a rival in the stomach with a screwdriver in a brawl outside a nightclub.

The victim suffered life-threatening injuries in the attack outside the Warehouse in Leeds city centre.

Leeds Crown Court heard that the incident happened during a disturbance involving a large group of people and the victim underwent surgery after the screwdriver caused damage to his liver.

Because of the new offence Francis has been recalled to prison and is not due for release until 2023.

Catherine McCullough, mitigating, said that her client disputed being under the influence.

She told magistrates: "He was getting the taxi early in the morning and was very tired and having to eat his breakfast on his journey.

"That breakfast was two mangoes and he'd used the knife to peel them."

Ms McCullough told magistrates that Francis is heavily involved in his grandmother's care. She said: "Since he's been recalled to custody she's had to go into a home and he's expressed some remorse about that situation."

Magistrates jailed him for six months but the sentence will not affect his expected release date.

He will have to pay £115 victim surcharge upon his release and the knife seized will be forfeited and destroyed.