I'll burn your house down (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

I'll burn your house down

AN ACCOUNTANT has been jailed for waging a campaign of terror against his mother, threatening to kill her and burn her house down.

Tom Cleaver, 41, who lived with his 66-year-old mum Gillian rent-free in Cricklade, went berserk when she kicked him out for making her life hell.

Cleaver, who has already served time for assaulting his mother, was sentenced to three months in prison at Swindon Magistrates' Court after admitting threatening to damage property.

The court heard Cleaver had made his mum's life increasingly uncomfortable until she showed him the door last October.

After that he began putting threatening notes through her letterbox.

One of them read: "I could do you in and nobody would ever know."

Another threatened to burn the house down saying "Don't sleep here tonight else you will go up with the house," and "I do like petrol, I hope you do."

Colin Meeke, prosecuting, told the court: "He lived with his mother rent free and over the years he became increasingly more unpleasant to her.

"He made life in her own home hell for her to the point that she stopped inviting friends over."

When Mrs Cleaver finally asked her son to leave last October he assaulted her, landing him a four-month prison term, and forcing her to take out an injunction to keep him away.

Mr Meeke said: "He continued to torment and harass and threaten somebody who had already been a victim."

Martin Wiggins, defending, said the relationship between mother and son had deteriorated since the death of Mrs Cleaver's husband.

He said: "Seven years ago he moved back home because his father was dying from cancer and she was unable to cope.

"During the years that followed his mother began a series of relationships with other men and spent less and less time at home.

"Consequently Mr Cleaver stayed there."

But Mr Wiggins claimed problems began when Mrs Cleaver sold some of her son's expensive computer equipment. "No-one had the right to sell his property on," he said. "Matters got out of hand very quickly indeed."

And he said: "It's quite clearly the case that at no time did he actually intend to carry out the threats."

Last month Cleaver was jailed for two years for contempt of court after breaking the injunction preventing him going near his mum.

He must also now serve the second half of the four-month sentence for the assault, which he was given in April.

Cleaver had been released early for good behaviour after serving half his sentence but as the latest offence was committed before the second half would have expired it has been reinstated.

Gareth Bethell