Brit Michael Sandford jailed over 'bid to kill Donald Trump'

A 20-year-old British man has been sentenced to 12 months in prison for attempting to grab a gun at a Trump rally in an alleged bid to kill the president-elect.

Michael Sandford, from Dorking, Surrey, pleaded guilty to the US federal charges of being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm and disrupting an official function in September.

Sandford is accused of attempting to grab a policeman's gun at a Trump rally on 18 June during the presidential campaign.

Sandford could have faced up to 20 years in a US prison if he had not pleaded guilty and went on to have been convicted at trial.

Lawyers acting for Sandford said he suffers a number of mental health problems and he was diagnosed as having had a psychotic episode at the time of the incident.

Sentencing Sandford to 12 months and a day in prison, Judge James Mahan acknowledged he has a "medical problem". Telling him he "should not be ashamed or embarrassed about it" and that he needs medication.

"You're not a hardened criminal. You're not evil or a sociopath like a lot of people we have" he said.

Judge James Mahan went on to say "I don't think you wanted to kill anybody. This was just some crazy stunt that your mind told you to do."

Sandford's mother has called for her son to be allowed to serve his sentence in the UK so he can receive psychiatric help.