A COUPLE called the police after their son began drunkenly waving a knife above his father's head, a court heard.

Matthew Paul Cooke, 36, pleaded guilty to affray and was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months.

His mother, Dorothy, 69, had initially requested a restraining order be placed on her son but later changed her mind.

Cooke had been staying with his parents at The Paddock in Elton, Chester, under the condition he only drank four cans of beer a day.

But on November 15 this year he began drinking a bottle of wine in the morning and by the time Mrs Cooke and her husband George returned to the house after lunch he was drunk.

Prosecuting at Chester Magistrates Court, Rob Youds said she spoke to her son as he was sitting on the stairs and demanded he leave the house.

“Once she told Matthew he had to leave he got up from the stairs, walked into the kitchen and returned holding a knife in his right hand, a large chopping knife,” Mr Youds said.

His parents then threatened to call the police.

“He replied that he would cut up the officers and defend himself,” said Mr Youds. “He then approached George, his father, and waved the knife at him over his head.”

Cooke, who has recently been living at the Richmond Court homeless hostel in Chester, then put the knife back in the kitchen before police officers arrived and arrested him.

He later made full admissions in his police interview.

In a victim impact statement, read to the court, Mrs Cooke said: “What is going on is making me ill. I love Matthew but I'm on tablets. He needs professional help.”

She added that she felt frightened but did not believe her son would hurt her or his father.

The court heard that Cooke is an alcoholic and around 18 months ago suffered a fall which caused him “physical problems” including blood clots on his chest.

When he drinks he is said to become “unbearable and aggressive”.

It emerged that Cooke has five previous convictions for five offences, including one of harassment against his mother in September this year.

Sentencing him, magistrates told him he had “put his parents through an exceedingly difficult time”.

As part of the suspended sentence order Cooke must undertake a three-month alcohol treatment programme as well as 20-day rehabilitation activity requirement. He must also pay £85 court costs and a £115 victim impact statement.