A furious dad lost his cool when a youngster insulted him as he drove past them telling one: "I'm a psycho...watch your back"

Alan Harrand, of Grange Road, Rusthall, Tunbridge Wells, claimed he heard someone calling him a derogatory name, Maidstone Crown Court heard.

He stopped his car near Tonbridge's West Kent College to confront the group, but only after arming himself with an axe.

The incident involving the 32 year old - described by an eye-witness as "aggressive and intimidating with his temples bulging" - was caught on CCTV challenging the group in December last year.

Prosecutor Eleanor Scott-Davies told the court that the cameras caught Harrand getting out of his vehicle with the axe in his hand by his side.

She added: "The defendant asked 'Who called me a ********?' before shouting various threats that he would 'smash his head in', that he was 'a ******* psycho', and to 'watch your back, you don't know me'."

The court heard the incident lasted a few seconds but left the boy feeling 'angry and concerned' and one described his behaviour as 'alarming' while another told police: "His temples were bulging and he kept looking around at all of us.

"He was very aggressive and intimidating. I didn't know what he would do. He seemed very unpredictable."

Judge Philip St John-Stevens heard there had been 'a background' involving one of Harrand's children which led to him losing his temper that morning with the boy.

Harrand, who suffers from ADHD and a weakened immune system, was given a 10-month jail term suspended for two years.

The judge told him: "You lost your temper for a short period of time but you must understand how frightening that must have been for others who didn't know what you were going to do with that axe or how far you were going to take it."

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