A grief-stricken former gambler who developed an addiction to stealing barricaded himself into a Carlisle house before starting a fire and brandishing a Samurai sword at police officers.

Bernard Broughton, 37, was plunged into crisis when he discovered he had been evicted. His possessions were dumped in a skip - including items he inherited from his late mother, who had died exactly a year previously, Carlisle Crown Court heard.

On the eve of his trial, Broughton, formerly of Lazonby Terrace, London Road, Carlisle, admitted affray and arson while being reckless of whether life was endangered.

He was jailed for 34 months.

Tim Evans, prosecuting, said the drama unfolded at 6.25am on August 14, last year, at a house on Fusehill Street, Carlisle, where Brougton was staying with a pal. Police were called when he barricaded himself inside. “Officers made their way through two doors, both of them barricaded,” said Mr Evans.

They found Broughton in a bedroom, its door blocked by bunk beds. Though the conversation was initially cordial, the mood changed as Broughton spoke of the home owner and asked the officers to pass him a can of lager - a request they refused. “Things took a turn for the worse,” said the barrister.

Broughton picked up a Samurai sword, removing it from its scabbard. He then lunged with it towards an officer, though the barricade eliminated any real risk of injury, said Mr Evans. Police used pepper spray to drive back the defendant. Later, when officers smelled burning, they forced entry to the room, finding Broughton - a lighter in his hand - setting fire to a duvet.

“It was out of character,” said Kim Whittlestone, defending. “The trauma the defendant was going through may have clouded his judgement. He was very much a man in crisis.” His downfall that day came for several reasons, said the barrister.

It was a year to the day since his mother’s death.

After finishing an earlier prison term, it took him four months to get benefits. The resulting rent arrears led to his eviction. Miss Whittlestone said: “He arrived home to find his items outside the premises: he found them in a skip, including items which belonged to his mother.”

He also learned something negative about a man he had considered a friend.

Referring to Broughton’s 134 theft convictions, Miss Whittlestone said they had funded a gambling addiction in his youth, but now stealing was his addiction.

Judge Nicholas Barker told Broughton: “There was in my judgement a real danger and risk of this matter being far worse and it was down to the quick actions of the police officers that prevented it from being so.” But the judge said he accepted that the offences were out of character and linked to his bereavement.