Man headbutted and threatened his neighbour at flat party in Blackpool

Neighbour Gavin Mills, 40, of Vance Road, central Blackpool, banged on the door and demanded those inside came out after he heard a loud argument, Preston Crown Court was told.

He told his victim: “ I’ll slice you up.”

Hanifa Patel, prosecuting, said: “ The victim tells the court that on June 1 at around 12.30pm he was inside a flat when a heated discussion was taking place between him, another male and his girlfriend. There was shouting between all parties, Around that time there was banging on the door. It was the defendant, who is a neighbour.

“It was apparent almost immediately he was angry. He was aggressive and he continued shouting for him and other people to come outside.

“He tried to reason with the defendant but he refused to listen and grabbed him by the throat, pinned him to the wall and headbutted him in the face. “He said: ‘I don’t need this, I live here.’”

When the victim asked him: “Who do you think you are?”, Mills pulled a knife from his pocket and waved it in his face, before grabbing him and headbutting his victim a second time.

In a police interview he denied he had a knife but admitted assaulting him.

He pleaded guilty to assault, threatening another with a bladed article, and breaching a bind-over order for breaching the peace.

Jack Troup, defending, said his client was due to enter rehab for three months after getting funding to tackle his drug issues.

He said: “He is tired of his offending behaviour. He feels it is time for him to grow up.

Recorder Charles Garside QC said: “You’ve got a bad record.

This is a case in which normally I would have to impose a minimum custodial sentence of six months for the offence.

“On the other hand, there is no doubt that in recent times you have made serious efforts to rehabilitate yourself, and had put into place the funding and opportunity to go for residential treatment in an institution that specialises in helping people such as yourself. It’s not all going to be cups of tea and cosy chats”

“You know if you’re given this opportunity and you don’t do what’s required of you, you will find yourself in difficulty with the law because you’ll relapse into your bad habits."

He imposed a 12-month sentence, suspended for two years.