A WINSFORD man who threatened to kill his neighbour before plunging a kitchen knife into her front door so hard it snapped has been jailed.  

Nathan Baker, of Saxon Crossway, got angry when the lady in the flat below asked him to repay money he owed her.

She sent the 31-year-old a text at around 1pm on July 15, 2023, asking him to give her back just half of the £200 he’d borrowed from her a few months before.   

Then at 1.15pm, she heard loud banging on the front door of her ground floor flat.

When she looked through the spy hole, she saw Baker wielding a large kitchen knife, shouting ‘just you watch - I’ll f*****g kill you’.

He then plunged the knife into her front door so hard the tip broke off.

She called the police, who went upstairs to Baker’s flat and found the knife.

He was taken into custody, but refused to leave his cell to be interviewed.

Baker appeared at Chester Crown Court for sentencing on Wednesday, January 10, after pleading guilty to one count of affray.

Prosecuting, Callum Ross told the court Baker has 47 convictions for 130 offences, including, battery, affray, assault, and criminal damage.

He also served 30 months of a five-year sentence for robbery and attempted robbery in 2014.

Mr Ross said the neighbour was left feeling ‘anxious, scared, and very concerned’ as her children were due home at the time of the attack.

He also urged the judge to take Baker’s history of violent offending into account when sentencing, and asked for a restraining order. 

Defending, John Wynn-Williams said Baker’s last serious offence was the robbery in 2014, and his offending since – ‘mostly theft and dishonesty matters’ - has mostly been dealt with at magistrates’ court.

He added Baker was remanded in custody after making the threats in July, and as criminals tend to do half their time behind bars, he’s already served the equivalent of a 12-month prison sentence.

"He has used his time on remand at HMP Liverpool to reflect on his current situation, and has used his time constructively”, Mr Wynn-Williams added.  

Passing sentence, Mr Recorder Eric Lamb said as none of Baker’s previous violent offending was against the neighbour, he was satisfied he did not pose a threat to her.

“Nevertheless, it was a frightening incident, as you well knew it would be,” he added.

Baker was sentenced to 12 months in prison, with half to be served out on licence, minus time already served. 

Recorder Lamb also issued a restraining order banning him from contacting his neighbour or going near her flat, and ordered the kitchen knife to be destroyed.