Mansfield Woodhouse man destroyed his front door with an axe and chainsaw when police arrived to turn off his gas after he threatened to blow his home up

Paul Allsop called the mental health crisis team on September 27 last year and demanded to speak to a mental health nurse, but during the course of the conversation he made the threats, Nottingham Crown Court heard on Thursday, January 7.

Prosecuting, Becky Allsop told the court that the police had then attended his home, in Chestnut Grove, to switch off the gas and the 51-year-old had become enraged and refused to let them in.

He had then brandished an axe and threatened to attack them if they tried to enter, before striking the door and attacking it with a chainsaw, the court heard.

Allsop had admitted causing criminal damage to the door - valued at £1,000 and belonging to Mansfield District Council - at a hearing before magistrates in November last year. He also admitted affray.

Mitigating, Treve Lander told the court: “The axe had been his grandfather’s old mining axe and the chainsaw was a kind of multi-purpose tool - it wasn’t a big chainsaw.

“The door wasn’t in 100 per cent top condition and he gets into an anxious state very easily.”

Magistrates gave Allsop a 16-week prison sentence suspended for 12 months and a 12-month community order to include 15 rehabilitation activity requirement days.

They also ordered him to pay £600 in compensation but didn’t order costs or a victim surcharge. They also ordered the axe and the chainsaw to be destroyed.

Editor’s message: In these confusing and worrying times, local journalism is more vital than ever. Thanks to everyone who helps us ask the questions that matter by taking out a subscription or buying a paper. We stand together. Nancy Fielder, editor.