A KENT businessman who sold replica weaponry has been jailed for threatening to blow up a public house run by his wife.

Alan Jeffery, 55, sprinkled gun powder around the upstairs living area of the Bell and Crown in Palace Street, Canterbury, and brandished a double-barrel shotgun after a day of rowing with his wife.

Canterbury magistrates heard that he became upset because he felt excluded from the pub business, of which Dorothy Jeffrey is licensee, and that he sent her veiled threats while he was in jail awaiting sentencing.

Jackie Morey, prosecuting, said: "Among the threats were 'retaliation replaces remorse', 'retribution replaces tolerance' and 'cold-hearted unfeeling ignorance cannot go on forever'."

Jeffery, the former owner of Corridors of Time in Palace Street, which specialised in historical replica weapons and armour, also telephoned the pub from prison and instructed his solicitor Kerry Waitt to send a letter to his daughter, in which he had hidden another letter for his wife.

She has made it clear she doesn't want to see him again, the court heard.

Mrs Morey described how the bomb threat on Thursday, July 24, came after on-going worries about money, during which time Jeffery had to close his shop because of poor trade.

The former Independent Traders' Association spokesman had been making threats all day and at 9.15pm they became more aggressive.

Mrs Morey said: "He threatened that he would fire bomb the pub and punch her teeth down her throat."

After closing time, he sprinkled the gun powder around the upstairs room, asked his son for matches and said to his wife: "You know what sort of fire this stuff makes if mixed with petrol."

Mr Waitt, defending, said, Jeffery wanted to stress he bore his wife no malice and is desperate for a chance to prove he has changed and for a chance of reconciliation.

He said the small quantity of black powder sprinkled about was not a volatile substance, that the shotgun was broken and Jeffrey had no ammunition for it - but he did not dispute that, not knowing this, the family would have been fearful of what might happen. The intention, Mr Waitt stressed, was not to blow up the pub.

When Mrs Jeffery's sister called the police Jeffrey put down the weapon and went outside to wait for them peacefully.

At an earlier hearing, Jeffrey pleaded guilty to threatening his wife that he would set fire to the pub.

He also admitted failing to keep his shotgun stored securely and notifying police of a change of address for his gun certificate.

Magistrates sentenced him to six months for the threats and two months to run consecutively for failing to comply with the terms of his firearms certificate, which they ordered to be confiscated.