A WORCESTER man who brandished the handle of a claw hammer towards two men and a teenager in front of his two young children did it to frighten them, a court has heard.

Anthony Prentice, aged 27, admitted at Worcester Magis-trates Court to possessing an offensive weapon and a public order offence of using words likely to cause harassment, alarm and distress.

Douglas Marshall, prosecuting, said Prentice, of Trout-beck Drive, Warndon, was walking to a shop in Glen-thorne Avenue at 5.30pm on Wednesday, November 21, when he saw the group.

Mr Marshall said they alleged Prentice called them faggots and although he denied using the word he admitted there was a dispute.

He said: "He reached into his pocket and got out what the victim thought was a knife. It was a claw hammer."

Mr Marshall said the victims, one of who was a 16 year old boy, heard the words he would stab him and, although Prentice denied using those words, he admited some threats were made.

One of the group ran off down the road, quickly followed by another and the police were called.

Officers went to Prentice's home on Tuesday, December 18, and he showed them the claw hammer, which had a metal handle, and how he had brandished it with the handle pointing outwards.

Mr Marshall said Prentice told officers he wanted to scare the group to stop them from calling him names, as they previously had done, but said he would not have been scared to use the hammer.

Brian O'Connell, defending, said Prentice was no longer living with his wife but she had written a letter which supported his claim that there had been an ongoing issue between him and a particular family.

He also said Prentice now understood he could not take the law into his own hands.

Deputy district judge Ian Strongman gave Prentice a supervision requirement and community order for 12 months, to run concurrently for the two offences, and ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the hammer.