A MAN who armed himself with a hatchet before confronting neighbours in a row over a parked car was given a four-month suspended jail sentence on Monday.
Belfast Magistrates’ Court heard Samuel Stewart was so drunk he could barely stand when the row flared in July last year.
The 58-year-old later told police he only armed himself with the hatchet as a deterrent because he did not know who would be in the house.
Stewart, of The Plains in Doagh, Ballyclare, admitted three counts of common assault and possession of an offensive weapon in public.
Defence counsel Michael Boyd told the court the incident, while completely out of character, was the culmination of a period of tension.
“He can barely remember what happened,” said Mr Boyd.
The three assault charges, against two men and a woman, related to fear of being attacked rather than any actual physical violence.
District Judge Fiona Bagnall was told Stewart had lost his temper amid attempts to get a parked car moved.
It was revealed that Stewart is planning to move home within the next month.
Judge Bagnall suspended the sentence for 18 months.
