Thug punched his aunt at family funeral then threatened to petrol bomb her house

Volatile Shane Churchill also grabbed a woman by the throat claiming her dog was on his grass, which was not even his

A thug punched his own aunt at a family funeral and then threatened to petrol bomb her home. Shane Churchill made sickening vows of violence against some of his relatives after feeling 'rejected' by them, Birmingham Crown Court was told.

In separate incidents the 34-year-old from Dudley grabbed a woman by the neck after telling her to get her dog off his grass, which was not even his, and also lashed out at a police officer. Churchill, from Hermit Street in Upper Gornal, was jailed for 25 months on Tuesday, September 24.

He had admitted harassment, two counts of threatening to destroy property, threats to kill, common assault and assaulting an emergency worker. Prosecutor Alison Scott-Jones stated Churchill was a drug user and had had an 'on and off' relationship with his aunt.

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She told the court the 'problems really began' when his nan, who he was said to be closest with, died in December last year. At her funeral in January Churchull grabbed his aunt by the throat and punched her after she had intervened when he tried to throw a glass at her daughter.

In the months that followed he sent disturbed threats of violence to his aunt as well as her partner and daughter. In July he disclosed to his probation officer that he wanted to burn down their house.

Later that month his aunt recorded him threatening to petrol bomb the address. On the same day one of her neighbours reported Churchill to the police.

Ms Scott-Jones said: "She had taken her dog outside her home to a communal grass area. The defendant was abusive to her and told her to get her dog off his grass even though it was a communal area.

"The way he approached the dog she felt she had to intervene because she believed he was going to attack the dog. The defendant grabbed her by the throat for a couple of seconds. It did cause momentary pain and red marks.

"Once she returned to her home the defendant followed her, calling her names and threatening to kill her dog. He also threatened to kill her and her boyfriend."

Churchill was arrested at his home address on July 31 this year. He resisted being detained and caused a minor injury to a female officer's arm either by biting out or causing the handcuffs to nick against her.

Churchill has 16 previous convictions for 43 offences with most of his law-breaking linked to drug-taking, the court was told. Joseph Keating, defending, stated his client was 'sorry' but did 'stupid things' when upset.

He told the court Churchill had paranoid personality disorder and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder due to spending some of his childhood in care. Mr Keating said: "It was only him that was taken into care, the others were not. It made him extremely paranoid about the situation and states it had a massive impact on this thinking."

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He explained the defendant was 'particularly close to his nan' and added: "He states she was the lynchpin of the family and when she passed away he had difficulty grieving for that loss.

"He states around the time of her passing and the funeral he was rejected by the family as he had been many years ago when he was taken into care. Once again his paranoia set in. The feeling of rejection turned to anger and when he gets angry he says and does stupid things."

The barrister further revealed Churchill had found his time in prison while on remand 'desperate', adding that his father was a 'lifer' who died behind bars. Judge Kerry Maylin, passing sentence, told the defendant he had put his family through a 'torturous history'.

She imposed a restraining order banning him from contact with the victims.