A DRUG addict who threatened to burn his mother's house down before wielding a 12-inch blade at his son has been jailed.

Kevin Walls, of no fixed abode, carried out three offences – theft, sending a malicious communication and threatening with a bladed article – all in the course of a single week, Oxford Crown Court heard at his sentencing on Friday.

The 37-year old committed his first offence, the theft, on September 22 when his mother gave him her bank card to take her VW Beetle for an MOT test, and he helped himself to roughly £120 from that card.

Just days later on September 26, blaming her for the vehicle subsequently being seized by police, he carried out the next offence – sending a malicious communication – by ringing up his mother and telling her he would 'burn the house down'.

Events came to a head the next day when his son and sister came to the family home at Green Hill, Blackbird Leys, Oxford, having already moved out, to collect items.

They found the door locked, with a key wedged inside preventing entry, and it became apparent that Walls was inside.

Prosecutors last week described 'chaotic' scenes as an argument quickly ensued, resulting in Walls exiting the house brandishing a 12-inch kitchen knife.

He came at his son with the weapon and shouts and threats were hurled – with his son screaming at him to stop and telling him to 'be a man', all while Walls' 13-year old sister cowered in fear in a car nearby.

Neighbours called police and Walls fled the scene.

He was caught three days later hiding inside an electrical cupboard of another house.

In mitigation, Francesca Anderson said her client had once been a hard-working family man but just four months prior to the week-long outburst he had developed a serious drug addiction.

This had culminated in a breakdown in relationships with his family and he had been deep in the throes of that addiction at the time, the court heard.

She added that he was 'very remorseful and ashamed' at what had happened.

Sentencing, Judge Zoe Smith said: "This was a bad incident and clearly you have problems with anger management."

She gave him a four-month prison term for the theft, 15 months for threatening with a bladed article and four months for the threatening communication, each of the offences to run consecutively, totalling 23 months in prison.

A restraining order was also made against his mother, sister and son.