A drunk man "threatened to chop people up" with an axe during a terrifying confrontation at a house, a court was told.
Michael Kirkman, 26, warned a man at the scene: "If you go into that building, this axe is going round your face."
Armed police were called to the scene, Grimsby Crown Court heard, and prosecutors said he could have easily "taken their head off" if he'd hit someone with the axe.
Kirkman was jailed for 16 months after admitting to making threats with an axe and causing criminal damage to a car, Grimsby Live reports.
Jeremy Evans, prosecuting, said that Kirkman went to a house in Frederick Street, Grimsby, at about 10pm where people that he knew were present.
He had been out earlier that day with his brother and other men, and he had been drinking. Kirkman was heavily drunk and had an axe with him. He made threats and drove the axe onto the carpeted floor, causing a "bit of a furore".
He was asked to leave but stayed around outside in the street. He warned another man: "If you go into that building, this axe is going round your face."
He made a gesture about throwing the axe. The man went inside anyway and the door was locked. He was left anxious and stressed but was helped by his friends inside the house.
Kirkman continued shouting and being aggressive and he tried to push his way into the house. The "bizarre" incident lasted for about 40 minutes. Kirkman caused damage to a car in the street.
He later told police that he could not recall the incident, but he apologised for his behaviour. He had a conviction for possessing a knife as an offensive weapon in 2017, when he had been jailed for six months.
Richard Lunn, mitigating, said: "He recalls very little because he had been abusing alcohol and was acting in an unhinged fashion. He wishes to apologise to the complainants for the trauma that he inflicted on them that evening. It was a prolonged incident."
While remanded in custody, Kirkman had been making the best of his time, taking part in courses, including on substance and alcohol abuse.
Judge Michael Fanning told Kirkman: "For 40 minutes, you were ranting and threatening to chop people up in that property. People were concerned enough to call the police. The police were concerned enough to send a firearms unit.
"Fortunately, by the time they got there, this situation had been defused but not before you caused damage to a car in the street." Kirkman had "flipped" after drinking very heavily all day and hearing some bad news.
Judge Fanning said of the axe: "It's a highly dangerous weapon. If you hit somebody with an axe, you are going to take their head off or chop them up. This was a prolonged incident in the street. People wouldn't have dared walk down the street. People were distressed by what was going on."
Kirkman was jailed for 16 months and was ordered to pay a £187 court charge. The axe will be destroyed. He told the court that he wanted to change his ways after his release from prison. "I am hoping to leave Grimsby," he said.
