A PENSIONER who wielded a pair of scissors and attacked his neighbours with a walking stick during a tirade of abuse has been jailed.

Stephen Larman, of Church Street, Ducklington, was captured on CCTV pacing up and down his road and waving the 'large, gnarled' stick at two of his neighbours and a contractor during the ordeal.

The 69-year old admitted the single count of possessing a bladed article as well as using threatening or abusive words or behaviour during the incident outside his home on June 2.

At his sentencing at Oxford Crown Court on Tuesday, Larman refused to leave his cell and would not appear via videolink from HMP Bullingdon despite arrangements being made, and he was sentenced in his absence.

The court heard the incident first started when a Scottish Power engineer knocked on Larman's door.

When he emerged from his house he was holding the walking stick as well as a pair of scissors.

Prosecutor Henry James said that soon after, two of his neighbours appeared outside and Larman became abusive, using obscene language at the pair.

Mr James told the court the reason for the altercation was that Larman had already been served a notice to leave the area, and added that the neighbours had been 'very distressed' by the unfolding incident.

At one stage Larman swung the stick at the two neighbours and the engineer from Scottish Power stepped in to take the full blow of the attack, the court heard, but was not seriously injured.

Mr James added: "There was waving around of the stick, some waving around of the knife [scissors], there is a lot of shouting and a lot of swearing."

One of the neighbours then called police, who arrived to find him still outside, where he was arrested in possession of the stick and scissors.

In mitigation, Adrian Amer said his client may be suffering from 'some form of mental health deterioration' and added that he had admitted the offences at the first opportunity.

Judge Maria Lamb handed Larman a prison sentence of 10 months – made up of eight months for possessing the bladed article to run consecutively with two months for the use of abusive words or behaviour.

The scissors and the walking stick were forfeited and will be destroyed.