A man who drove at speed at cars belonging to his two brothers and later attempted to ram a police car has been given a suspended prison sentence.

Ipswich Crown Court heard that Nicholas McClean went to his brother Daniel McClean's house in Wellington Esplanade, Lowestoft, on May 3 and kicked a wing mirror off his car before using a hammer to smash the windscreen.

He then drove his car into his brother's Ford Mondeo and smashed the wing mirror of his brother's partner's car.

Alex Wright, prosecuting, said the Ford Mondeo was a write-off as a result of the incident.

McClean then drove to his older brother Victor McClean's home in Kingston Close, Lowestoft, and when he answered the door he swung a claw hammer at him.

Victor McClean managed to grab hold of the hammer to stop it hitting him, but his brother had then used the hammer to damage a headlight on his Seat Leon, said Mr Wright.

Nicholas McClean then got back into his car and reversed it before driving at speed into the Seat, which subsequently hit a wall, causing thousands of pounds worth of structural damage to a garage.

Mr Wright said Nicholas McClean had then grabbed his brother by the throat with both hands and pushed him over a wall as he tried to strangle him.

The police were alerted and followed the defendant's car. When they boxed it in, McClean tried to ram the police car which managed to avoid a collision by reversing out of the way, said Mr Wright.

Nicholas McClean, 29, of no fixed address, admitted five offences of criminal damage, assault by beating, having an offensive weapon and driving without due care and attention.

He was given a 15-month prison sentence suspended for two years, a 15-day rehabilitation activity requirement and his licence was endorsed with six penalty points.

He was also ordered to do 200 hours unpaid work and banned from contacting his brothers for three years.

Marc Brown, for McClean, said he had been in custody since July and had committed the offences after his doctor refused to prescribe him further medication for his mental health issues until an assessment had taken place.

Mr Brown said: "His mental health deteriorated in the following days. It is regrettable his GP decided to withdraw his medication when he did."