Hebburn man waves axe after threatening to cut off neighbour's head

The case was dealt with at South Tyneside Magistrates Court | NW

A frustrated South Tyneside DIY flop waved an axe from his window at the woman next door when a bed he put together while drunk collapsed, a court heard.

Raymond Peters, 60, had used the blade as a substitute hammer to construct the frame in his upstairs flat in Coniston Avenue, Hebburn.

But he waved it out of annoyance and animosity when the bed toppled as she stood chatting to a friend in her garden on Monday, May 13.

He also threatened her in a bizarre Facebook message sent to a mutual friend on the same day, prosecutor Paul Coulson revealed.

In it, he wrote, ‘If I get cancer, I’ll go to her address and chop her f-cking head off’.

Borough magistrates heard Peters’ issue with his bed was not the only reason for his out-of-character behaviour.

He also held underlying resentment towards the woman, having helped her financially out of kindness but later learning he was not the only one.

Mr Coulson said: “The defendant was looking out of his top window and gesturing with an axe in his hand.

“He was waving the axe in the direction of the people in the garden. There was fear about what may potentially happen.

“Four people saw the defendant waving the axe around in the general direction of the property.

“The woman was very concerned about the behaviour of the defendant.

“She was also informed by a neighbour that the defendant had sent a Facebook message.

“It read, ‘If I get cancer, I’ll go to her address and chop her f-cking head off’.”

Peters, who has no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to making threats with an offensive weapon and sending an obscene or menacing message.

Details of the bed collapse were revealed to the court in a report by the Probation Service.

It said he had downed a bottle of wine while watching a televised football match and had then attempted the DIY.

Alastair Naismith, defending, said: “It’s a neighbour dispute in effect which has escalated a little bit.

“There are no victim personal statements and no evidence of serious distress.”

Magistrates sentenced Peters to a 15-month community order, with 20 rehabilitation days and 60 days alcohol abstinence.

He must pay a £114 victim surcharge and £85 court costs.