A 26-year-old Cirencester man stormed out of his partner's home with a meat cleaver in his hand when police turned up to reports of a disturbance, a court heard yesterday.

Shortly before officers with stun guns arrived in London road, Cirencester, Seamus Kidd and his partner Louise Drew had received a visit from her angry ex boyfriend and two other men with a dog, Gloucester crown court was told.

The ex-boyfriend claimed he had a gun and was going to shoot and kill Kidd, the court heard.

But by the time the police arrived in response to emergency calls from Miss Drew and neighbours, the gang had gone, said prosecutor Janine Wood.

She said that on hearing the police outside Miss Drew's home Kidd, 26, of Baunton Lane, Cirencester, emerged holding a meat cleaver at his side.

An officer raised a taser gun to her chest and warned Kidd to drop the cleaver or she would fire. He started shouting and his chest was 'pumped up' but the officer could not understand him because he seemed intoxicated, the prosecutor said.

The officer shouted to him again to drop the cleaver and he did so and took a step back - but then appeared about to pick it up again.

However, he did not do so and was then arrested. A lock knife was found in his trousers pocket.

"He said he had it for survival reasons and for self defence," Ms Wood said.

Kitchen porter Kidd pleaded guilty to affray and two charges of possessing offensive weapons on 16th August this year.

Judge Jamie Tabor QC said he would take an exceptional course with Kidd because of the background circumstances and the threats he had received from the other man, who has also been charged in connection with the incident.

The judge said 95 percent of men who produced a knife in public as Kidd had done would go straight to jail but he was able to suspend sentence in his case.

He imposed a 7 months jail term suspended for two years and placed Kidd under supervision for a year. He also ordered him to pay £150 costs and a surcharge of £80.

Stephen Parker, defending, had told the court Kidd had been Miss Drew's partner for two years and had become a father to her child. The couple had been under pressure throughout from the ex-boyfriend, who has a bad criminal record and is now in custody, he added.