A MAN who moved from Greenock to Port Glasgow to get away from a life of crime smashed up his new neighbour's home and car after arming himself with a kitchen knife.

Sean Ward — who has a catalogue of convictions for weapons offences and violence — stormed over to the house believing someone had told former associates where he was.

He brandished the blade whilst shouting threats, then smashed the windows of the property at Dougliehill Terrace and of a Citroen car that was parked on the road outside.

Ward, 27 — who was out on licence from a previous jail term at the time of the offence — has now been hammered with a 38-month sentence of imprisonment.

Sheriff Andrew McIntyre told him: "You have a large number of convictions for offences involving weapons, knives and violence — and two recent ones for possession of a sword.

"You were not finished serving a sentence and you're found in the street making threats of violence with a knife.

"The only sentence to properly reflect this offending is one of imprisonment, and it has to be a substantial sentence to seek to deter you from further offending and also to protect the public."

Greenock Sheriff Court heard how a boozed-up Ward committed his latest offences at around 10pm on July 8.

Prosecutor John Penman said that police received a flurry of calls from witnesses within the targeted property and elsewhere in the street alerting officers to the late-night disturbance.

Fiscal depute Mr Penman said: "Two officers were instructed to attend and they were joined by two other officers.

"They observed Ward and saw him throw an object over a fence.

"He was arrested and conveyed to Greenock police office as officers conducted door-to-door enquiries and recovered a silver-coloured kitchen knife.

"The windows of a Citroen car were broken and the windows of the house were smashed."

Defence lawyer Ellen Macdonald said: "Mr Ward has been in a relationship for three years that has been positive for him.

"After being released from his last sentence in September last year he moved out of the local area in order to get away from certain people, and moved to Port Glasgow.

"It is fair to say that this has been the longest time that he's not come to the attention of the court."

Ms Macdonald added: "His neighbour, he believes, told others where he was living, and that inevitably brought trouble to his door.

"He had been drinking that day and asks individuals to leave his door, then took matters into his own hands."