A CRADLEY Heath man was armed with a kitchen knife when he punched a hole in the front door at the home of a "terrified" Netherton family.

Daniel Thompson, who had downed eight pints of lager, was angry because he felt the victims had been sending insulting Facebook messages about his girlfriend's family.

The 25-year-old went to the house in Copse Road and he left a couple and their children in fear for their safety, Neil Ahjula, prosecuting, told Wolverhampton Crown Court.

He said that in a victim impact statement the woman said she had never felt so scared in her life because she felt she was being terrorised in her own home.

Her partner said the incident had left him distressed and badly shaken because they had been extremely concerned about their four children.

Judge Amjad Nawaz told Thompson, whose address was given in court as Copse Road, it was clear that if he had a grievance against the family, other avenues had been open to him to sort out the issue.

"You had no right to turn up at someone's door in a drunken state when you were armed with a knife," he said.

"Thankfully you were not able to gain entry into that house."

Thompson, of Meadow Walk, admitted affray and possessing the knife and he was given a 16 month jail sentence, suspended for two years.

He was placed on supervision for two years, told to carry out 180 hours unpaid work in the community and to pay £127 for the damage to the door.

The judge also ordered him to pay £300 costs and made a restraining order, forbidding him from going anywhere near the victims for the next five years, Alison Scott-Jones, defending, said Thompson was a young man with no previous convictions and he had acted totally out of character.

She told the court that he knew there was no excuse for his behaviour and he was full of shame for the way he acted.

What he did was "foolish and unpleasant," said Miss Scott-Jones and he had already taken steps to get to the bottom of his behaviour.