A Deal man, who pointed a chainsaw at his estranged son during an argument in the street, has avoided going straight to jail.

Furious Paul Thatcher spotted his son, Sam, working near the Clarendon Hotel in Deal.

He then started up the potentially lethal machinery and walked towards the terrified younger man, saying: “I’m going to use this on you!”

Prosecutor Frances Lawson told Canterbury Crown Court how Sam was unloading his van, which was parked in Broad Street public car park.

She said: “He heard a voice saying: 'You’re going to be ******* sorry’ and ‘I’m going to make you pay’.

“He looked up and saw it was his estranged father who was shouting.”

She added: “He said 'If any of you come near me again I’ll ******* kill you’. Then he walked away.”

But as Sam carried on with his work he heard a chainsaw being revved up and a colleague shouted: “Sam, he’s got a chainsaw.”

Ms Lawson said the victim then ran into the High Street fearing for his life.

She added: “The incident was witnessed by Sam’s colleague, Joshua Brown, and also by a member of the public, Paul Ludwig, who was sitting in his vehicle in the car park.

“He heard shouting and saw Thatcher walking towards Sam revving the chainsaw,” she said.

Thatcher was later stopped by police officers, who found a chainsaw in the back of his vehicle.

Minutes before he was due to stand trial, Thatcher changed his pleas to guilty to affray and possession of an offensive weapon during the incident in 2015.

Judge James O’Mahony told him: “You were totally out of control with this chainsaw but this case goes back more than two years and it has been hanging over your head.

“The source of this dispute is the sad and deplorable fact that there is animosity between you and your children and ex-partner.

“Fortunately there have been no further incidents and both parties now want to draw a line in the sand.”

Thatcher, who is now subject to an electronic tag for three months, was told to stay away from his former lover and family until further notice.

He was given a nine-month jail sentence suspended for two years, and ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work for the community.