A MAN was so enraged that a friend had refused to lend him her gazebo that he broke in to her home to steal it before exploding into a rage when confronted outside.

Liam O'Neil, of Pauling Road, Wood Farm, Oxford had been friends with his victim at the time of the break-in and had previously stayed at her house on her sofa.

It was during this time that, unbeknown to his victim, the 24-year old had taken a set of keys to the house.

On the day of the burglary on July 29 he had phoned the householder to ask if he could borrow a gazebo that she stored in her garden shed.

He was told 'unequivocally', Oxford Crown Court heard at his sentencing on Tuesday, that he could not take the outdoors accessory that day.

Undeterred, the court heard, he turned up at the house at about 5pm and went in while the householder's sister was home alone.

O'Neil was in a drunken state and had stolen beer and wine from inside a kitchen fridge as well as the gazebo, the court heard, before the woman heard a 'thump' noise and found him downstairs.

Prosecutor Cathy Oliver said that on leaving the house he was then stopped by the woman's uncle who was parked outside in a taxi.

It was then that O'Neil launched into a rage and hurled a brick at the car which struck a window directly next to a child who was sitting inside, terrified of what was unfolding.

Ms Oliver said: "There was shouting and punches were swung. He lost his temper and ran at the car and threw a brick at the window.

"There was a little girl sitting in the car at the time, she was very upset as it happened."

When police arrived he continued to hurl abuse as he was arrested, screaming 'I know where you live, I know where you mum lives, wait and see what happens', the court heard.

He went on to tell officers that he had been given permission to borrow the gazebo and also had permission to take alcohol from the fridge.

In mitigation, Lucy Ffrench, defending, said her client had a particularly troubled past but had secured work as an apprentice plumber and was committed to tackling his binge drinking problem in a bid to turn his life around.

Jailing O'Neil, Judge Maria Lamb said: "Your behaviour after the burglary was completely out of control. I know you didn't intend to upset the child but you did upset her."

He was given a nine-month prison sentence for the single count of burglary and one month for criminal damage to run consecutively.