Furious dad armed himself with axe and baseball bat after son 'slapped' in Sunderland

David Sloan "saw red" when he found out his boy had been hit and turned up at the Doxy Lad bar in Sunderland with the two weapons.

Newcastle Crown Court heard when police arrived at the scene the 47-year-old was at the nearby Inn Place but by then was disarmed and nobody had been hurt.

Sloan, of Gayhirst Crescent, Sunderland, admitted two charges of having an offensive weapon on July 26.

Judge Edward Bindloss said it was "baffling" that Sloan, who handed in character references to the court, behaved in that way and added: "He is of good character, a hard worker, has a wife and children. He is not from a criminal fraternity.

"He has contributed to society, has a family, has responsibilities, is highly valued, trustworthy, no-one has doubted his character before and here is is, going to the pub with an axe and a baseball bat.

"He's gone from zero to 60 in three seconds."

Fiona Lamb, defending, said Sloan's 17-year-old son had rang home that night to say he had been "slapped" twice by a man who is known to the family.

Miss Lamb said: "It was clearly very upsetting for both the defendant and his wife.

"The defendant saw red, someone had hurt his son."

Miss Lamb said Sloan is now remorseful for what he did.

Judge Bindloss sentenced Sloan to six months imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, with 100 hours unpaid work and rehabilitation requirements.

He said it was a "highly unusual step" to suspend the prison sentence when something as serious as an axe is involved.

The judge told Sloan: "To say this is out of character is an understatement.

"I accept fathers are often protective towards their family but your actions in this case go way beyond anything that is reasonable. In the cold light of day you now accept and understand. It all fizzled out pretty quickly. It could have been a lot worse but thankfully you came to your senses in good time."