A man breached a restraining order by contacting his estranged wife first thing in the morning to demand she hand over £125,000.

Bob Turner, 55, was banned from contacting his ex at that time as a result of a violent incident in 2011 where he was jailed for threatened her with a gun.

But despite having broken the terms of the order twice before, he still went to see Liz Turner, an Arab horse breeder, and demanded she had over the cash.

They then argued at the stud farm they own and when the police arrived they found the couple's son with a hammer in his hand as he pinned down his father.

Colin Meeke, prosecuting, told Swindon Crown Court, said: "The complainant in this matter, the defendant's ex-wife, has had a troubled relationship with him over the course of the marriage and through the end of the marriage.

"A restraining order was imposed, he was before the court in January 2012 and jailed for possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and two counts of battery.

"That was the route of the restraining order. He then breached that order on two more occasions in 2012 and 2013 and was imprisoned for each of those."

He said the couple and their son all had caravans at the land they owned and on some occasions all resided there.

"The crumbling family finances meant Elizabeth Turner, on her own admission, acceded to far more contact than the restraining order permitted," he said.

"That caused difficulties between them and on the day in question the defendant had stayed over in a caravan on the land.

"He had been exasperated by the family finances, went to see his ex-wife, and demanded £125,000, his share of the property, demanded it there and then. Things then became extremely unpleasant."

Mr Meeke said the defendant was shouting and threatening his former wife and the behaviour got so bad it caused their son to restrain him.

"The police arrives, having been summoned originally, to find the defendant being restrained on the ground by his son," he said.

"He was holding a hammer which he had taken up. The son believed his father had picked up a knife about the farm."

When he was questioned the defendant denied acting in a threatening manner but accepted he had contacted his wife too early and demanded the money.

Turner, formerly of Beechley Fields, Minety, but now living in Queen Elizabeth Drive, Swindon, admitted breaching a restraining order.

Rob Ross, defending, told the court the restraining order was 'curious' in that it let him contact his ex wife between 9am and 12 midday or by prior arrangement.

"There was an argument on this morning about financial issues. He contacted her at 8am not 9am," he said.

He said he had pleaded guilty on a 'technical breach' of the order and hoped the order could be redrafted to make it better for all parties.

Passing sentence Judge Philip Wassall imposed a two year conditional discharge and issued a new restraining order.

He banned him from contacting his son and only allowed contact with his wife at her instigation and if he had it in writing, including text and email.

The judge also told him he must not go to Beechley Fields in Minety or possess a firearm, including air weapons.