An ex-serviceman who beat up his own son after being ordered to get out of the family home by a court has appeared in court for sentencing.

David Brand, aged 55, who lived in Porthleven at the time of the offence but now lives in London, had already pleaded guilty to affray when he appeared at Truro Crown Court on April 3.

This morning he appeared at Truro Crown for sentencing where his defence asked for the area of a restraining order exclusion zone to be reduced.

Opposing the application the prosecution said that this was a marriage break-up going back to 2008 and there were still problems ongoing 13 or 14 years later.

Mr Taylor defending, said four years would be ample for a restraining order to be imposed. He said Brand, a former serviceman, was taking prescription drugs for anxiety and depression and PTSD.

Brand took the stand to try to persuade the judge to reduce the exclusion zone to allow him to be able to go to Porthleven and Breage

He said his ex-wife now lived in Helston about two and a half miles away a place he would have no reason to go to.

"I had lived there [Porthleven] for 20 years and I have a lot of friends there," he told the court. "They also helped me with support with my mental issues. When I was living there I used to be round there houses all the time."

He said he would only go once or twice a year.

However he admitted to the prosecution there were family proceedings ongoing in which he was applying for a non-molestation order against his ex-wife so there were ongoing issues between them.

The judge refused his application saying it was a "perfectly sensible" exclusion zone and that he had a particular concern that the relationship was not at an end as there were ongoing dispute between him and his wife. He said the order should last five years.

At the earlier hearing the court heard that there was a dispute over the former family home in Porthleven. That dispute led to various court orders made in 2021 and one in the early part of last year (2022).

The first was a “non-molestation order” made in March 2021 which prohibited him threatening violence against his former partner by intimidating, harassing or pestering her which was due to expire in March of this year.

Secondly there was an order that Brand moved out of the property in Porthleven “forthwith” to allow the property to be sold, made in March of last year.

But Brand had not complied with it and at the end of July last year the court made a further order that he would be put in prison for contempt unless he left the property by 4pm on August 2.

On that day at around 4pm, the former couple’s son went to the house to check on the defendant’s dogs and for a locksmith to come and change the locks.

He was with his girlfriend and his two male friends and when they arrived the property was empty, said the prosecution.

They went upstairs to the son’s bedroom and listened to music but, at about five to eight in the evening, the son received a call from his mother, warning him that his father had been spotted in Porthleven buying dog food.

Five or ten minutes later, Brand arrived in his van and tried to get in through the front door but couldn’t because it was bolted and in the meantime the son telephoned 999.

Brand went round to the back garden and the son heard him say ‘Whoever is in my house I’m going to stab’ and ‘Who the F***’* done this to my dogs?’ because the dogs were in the garden.

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Brand forced his way in and attacked his son on the stairway punching him in the face and chest threatening to kill him.

As the son managed to escape he heard his dad say: “Your mum is going to be dead in two weeks”.

Brand continued to use foul language and shout abuse from the back of a police van such as “I’m going to kill you”.

Sentencing Brand to 16 weeks in prison suspended for 18 months, Recorder R Mawhinney said he accepted Brand's remorse over the incident. He also ordered that Brand pay a fine of £200 and a victim surcharge of £154. There would also be a curfew for another four months and the applied for restraining order woulf be put in place for five years