A KNIFE-wielding father of six demanded cash from his uncle and threatened to kill him and another man, a court was told.

Burnley Crown Court heard how taxi driver Mohamnmed Choudhrey, 41, insisted the uncle owed him £9,000 and was twice CS gassed by police before he was disarmed in the rumpus, which lasted about an hour.

Judge Andrew Blake, who sent the defendant to prison for 12 months, said he had completely lost control and what he had done was wholly criminal, wrong and unacceptable.

Choudhrey, of Devonshire Road, Burnley, admitted affray, having a blade in public and possessing cannabis.

Sara Dodd, prosecuting, said the defendant had rung his uncle, who ran a taxi firm, and asked to borrow £9,000. When he was refused he said he would smash all his taxis. More calls followed and Choudhrey turned up at the taxi office saying he wanted cash by that evening or his uncle was dead.

One conversation was overheard by a police officer, who went to the defendant's home.

Choudhrey later spoke to his cousin, said his uncle owed him £10,000, and if it was not paid, he would kill him.

Miss Dodd said Choudhrey was then seen near the cousin's home, threatening to kill the uncle and cousin as well

He produced a large knife, waved it about, went to the office but was thrown out by an employee. When police arrived he was standing in the middle of St James Street, brandishing the weapon.

Robert Crawford, defending, said Choudhrey was a decent, hard working man and maintained he had been done out of a lot of money by the complainant. He said he took the knife with him because he feared violence.

The defendant accepted having the knife was considerably over the top. He wanted his money and he felt he was in the right.

Choudhrey had been in custody for four and a half months, the equivalent of a nine-month sentence. His wife suffered from depression and was having to bring the family up on her own.

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