A mentally ill Thetford man has been sentenced to 10 months in prison after assaulting and threatening to 'execute' his partner.

Glenn Piggott, 51, appeared at Norwich Crown Court yesterday after previously admitting affray, common assault and criminal damage.

The court heard Piggott, who is currently serving time in prison for grievous bodily harm, suffered from bi-polar disorder and had been seeking medical help in the lead up to the attack on his partner on January 4.

Piggott had grabbed her around the throat, shouting that he was God, and told her he was 'going upstairs to kill the kids.' He later said he would 'execute you all' and police had to use CS gas to subdue him.

He had been home on licence after serving part of his two-year jail term for GBH, but was returned to prison after his arrest.

Recorder Maureen Baker raised concerns that Piggott's condition had been allowed to deteriorate, despite his efforts to find help.

'This behaviour could have led to much more serious offences,' she said.

Rebecca Wastall, mitigating, said the 51-year-old had been feeling unwell and was running low on his medication, so had placed himself under assessment on January 2.

His son and mother had also been concerned about his behaviour, but Piggott had not been detained because it was not felt he was suffering from a psychotic episode, the court heard.

Piggott had previously been under the care of a mental health outreach team, but because his condition had stabilised, he had needed a GP referral back to the team to receive its help.

Ms Westall said his family were frustrated by a lack of help from services and felt the offences could have been prevented with the right treatment.

Piggott was sentenced to 10 months for affray and three months concurrent for common assault. There was no separate punishment for the criminal damage charge.

'It's a great pity the outreach team did not reach out,' Recorder Baker said.

daisy.wallage@archant.co.uk