An alcoholic held a man at knifepoint - and then offered him cans of Fosters lager.

Johnny Rebb, 32, of Middleton Road, Banbury, threatened Martin Earley with a combat knife just yards from his home and then frogmarched him inside.

Oxford Crown Court was told yesterday (Mon) that Rebb, who is being treated for a psychiatric condition, telephoned police on March 17 to say that he had taken Mr Earley hostage.

Nicholas Syfret, prosecuting, said: "Police in Banbury believed they were dealing with a hostage-taking in Middleton Road.

"That belief arose as a result of a telephone call in which he (the defendant) said he had a hostage and was going to kill him."

The court heard that the siege, which began shortly after 8.20pm, lasted 80 minutes before police persuaded Rebb to come out of the house with Mr Earley. Mr Syfret added: "In a statement following he (Mr Earley) said he had had a knife held to his throat and had been abducted and held against his will.

"Even though he probably had been taken from the street against his will, he was by no means an intimidating person in the house. They shared cans of Fosters lager between them."

Rebb pleaded guilty to one count of false imprisonment at an earlier hearing on May 15. A kidnapping charge and a charge of possessing an offensive weapon have been ordered to lie on file.

Sentencing Rebb to a two year probation order, Judge Tom Corrie told him: "This was a very serious offence. You held another man against his will for some time and, obviously, frightened him very badly."

As part of the probation order Rebb has been asked to continue psychiatric treatment and attend an alcoholics' reform programme.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.