A MENTAL health patient who has been “failed” by the system took a knife into Asda and threatened to stab staff.

Manjinder Kaur has been suffering with mental health problems since September last year.

Things came to a head on March 26 this year when she walked into the Asda store in Eastgate, Basildon with a knife.

She shouted abuse at some of the members of staff and made threats to use the knife, declaring she would “f****** stab” people.

The 33-year-old was arrested on the same day and has been in custody ever since.

She appeared yesterday at Basildon Crown Court via video link.

The court was told that the sentencing had been delayed several times because suitable accommodation for Kaur could not be found, in part due to resources from the criminal justice system being “out of rope”.

Oliver Renton, mitigating, told Judge Samantha Cohen she was desperate to be sentenced and seek help.

He said: “The remand programme has not been something that has assisted her in that crisis. She has been assaulted inside prison.

“She knows that because of the failure to find suitable accommodation, through no fault of her own, means she is liable to homelessness, and to her it’s by far the more preferable option.

“She’s getting worse, not better, in prison. She is desperate and frustrated that she’s in a situation she cannot control.

“She wants the ability to try to put her life back on track.”

Judge Cohen handed Kaur, of no fixed address, a suspended sentence of three months, accounting for the nine months she has already served, and 20 hours rehabilitation.

She told Kaur: “Taking a knife into a superstore to where you were banned is a very serious offence and very frightening for those staff members at Asda. It was a fantastically dangerous thing for you to do.

“You have come into contact with the authorities due to the decline in your mental health, and I’m not going to give you a prison sentence, so that you can get the help and support that you need.”

The judge also wished her good luck.