AN AXEMAN who threatened to chop up an opponent after he brandished it during a fight has been jailed.

Leon John, 30, wielded the weapon when an argument broke out during a clash at a house in Caerphilly.

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And he the aggressor came off worse when he ended up in hospital with a broken nose and fractured ribs for his trouble.

Meirion Davies, prosecuting, said: “On the evening of August 14, the defendant went to an address in Lansbury Park.

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“There was a dispute and he went to a Peugeot vehicle and returned with a large axe.

“The weapon was brandished and a struggle took place where people got it off him.”

Mr Davies added: “During the confrontation, the defendant was headbutting the driver side wheel.

“It was clear he was also attacked at some point by other males.”

John then returned to steal the Peugeot.

He also got behind the wheel of the vehicle when he wasn’t allowed to drive after losing his full licence following a ban.

John’s guilty plea to possession of an offensive weapon was his third conviction for that offence.

He also admitted taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent, driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence and driving without insurance.

Cardiff Crown Court heard how John, formerly of Caerphilly, had more than 60 previous convictions to his name.

They included offences of public disorder, criminal damage, dangerous driving, failing to surrender and drug-driving.

Jeffrey Jones, mitigating, said his client was hospitalised following the incident in August after suffering four fractured ribs and a broken nose.

His barrister told the court: “He is a sinner but he was also sinned against.”

Judge Daniel Williams dismissed this argument and told John: “You threatened to chop up one man and he bravely took the axe from you.

“There is no mitigation to be found in any violence used against you. You caused serious alarm and distress.

“It is also aggravated by your previous offending.”

John, now of Upper High Street, Bedlinog, Merthyr Tydfil, was jailed for 16 months and banned from driving for 20 months.