A 55-YEAR-old man has been jailed over a New Year's Eve axe attack on a neighbour after a long-standing dispute.

Mark Benson, of Langley Lane, Baildon, swung the axe at his neighbour Andrew Greaves after following his partner to the victim's house after the pair had been out drinking on December 31 last year.

He connected with Mr Greaves shoulder, leaving behind cuts, as well as shattering the glass in his neighbour's front door and the front window.

Bradford Crown Court heard that Benson had had a grudge with Mr Greaves for a number of years, after he sided with Mr Greaves' now ex-wife over a matter.

Prosecutor Paul Nicholson outlined how Benson's partner Lynda Blewitt had first approached Mr Greaves' home, three doors down from the defendants, at around 10pm on New Year's Eve.

Mr Greaves did not recognise her and opened the door, but she shouted: "We are coming for you", and wagged her finger.

At his point he spotted Benson walking up the path with an axe in his hand. Benson said "I'm going to kill you", Mr Nicholson told the court.

Benson swung the axe breaking the glass panel in the door, and leaving two minor cuts on Mr Greaves' left arm. He was able to lock the door and grab the axe from his attacker through the broken pane.

Cement planters were thrown through the front window, breaking the glass and damaging the table in the living room. More than £3,000 worth of damage was caused.

When police officers arrived at Benson's address to arrest him they were blocked from entering by Blewitt, who mistakenly believed they could not enter without a warrant.

Benson also put up a violent struggle as the officers tried to arrest him, with one officer being knocked to the ground and having to resort to using a Taser on him.

He was sufficiently violent that the officer made a Code Zero callout, used when officers need urgent assistance.

Benson pleaded guilty to affray, criminal damage, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, possessing an offensive weapon and two counts of assaulting an emergency worker. He was jailed for ten months and a restraining order was imposed preventing him from any contact with the 69-year-old disabled pensioner for five years.

Blewitt, of 51, of East Drive, Pontefract, admitted obstructing a police officer and was conditionally discharged for two years.

The victim, who was in the house with his partner at the time, told the police how he had been expecting this for nine years since the matter with his ex-wife.

"I was in total fear for my life, as well as my partner's life," he said in a statement.

In sentencing, Judge Jonathan Gibson said: "Your neighbours were understandably terrified by your actions."

He added that the grudge - and who started the dispute - was not relevant here.

In mitigation, the court heard that both defendants had been drinking and that the behaviour was totally out of character and was unlikely to be repeated.

Benson was described as having ongoing mental health issues, and had been reeling from the death of his mother and news that his father was terminally ill.

He also insisted that the angst between him and Mr Greaves did not stem from him.

"It's unforgivable and he's thoroughly ashamed," his barrister said.

The defendants have since accepted an offer on their house, in order to move away from the area, the court heard.