A MUM-of-three brandished a huge knife when a row with her neighbours over a chunk of polystyrene got out of hand.

Alecia McCrae had already assaulted the couple before she armed herself with the weapon, with her young children begging her to stop, a court heard.

But after being told the 38-year-old had no previous convictions and was sorry for what she had done, a judge put her on a community order.

Michael Butt, prosecuting, told Swindon Crown Court that McCrae and her three children live next door to Daniel and Bromwen Edwards.

In October last year the couple got home to find a large lump of polystyrene on the driveway of their Tadpole Gardens home.

“Mr Edwards removed the polystyrene and put it on a communal grass area outside their properties,” said Mr Butt. “Ms McCrae was later to claim that somehow or other that piece of polystyrene had found its way to her front door.

“Mr and Mrs Edwards had not put it there, maybe the wind had taken it there. Ms McCrae believed it was next door who had put it there.”

Shortly after Mr Edwards noticed that someone from her house was throwing the large piece of plastic at his car on the driveway, he said. He knocked on the door and, when the defendant came out, he calmly asked what was going on. An argument started and McCrae grabbed him by the shirt, turning on his wife when she tried to get between them.

“Mr Edwards then accepts he pushed Ms McCrae away from his wife, upon which her annoyance escalated,” he said. “She made reference to a knife, then disappeared in to her house for a few seconds and reappeared with a knife.”

Neighbours told police the knife was six to 12 inches long.

“Ms McCrae approached Mr Edwards with the knife waving it around and making various threats,” he said. He said her children were shouting at her ‘Mum, mum, please stop’.

McCrae, of De Morgan Crescent, denied two counts of assault, affray and possessing an offensive weapon, but on the morning of trial she changed her plea to admit affray.

Andrew Stone, defending, said his client was the sole carer for children aged 13, 11, and nine and had worked in the past as a carer. He said she was now trying to get better qualifications to be a care home manager and realised she reacted badly by losing her temper as she did.

Passing sentence Judge Robert Pawson said “You took a knife out in public when you lost your temper. You take not only your own but other people’s lives in your hands.

“If you had struck Mr Edwards with that knife whether you killed him or not you would be going to prison. That would have a serious impact on your children.”

He imposed an 18 month community order with 100 hours’ unpaid work and 10 days’ rehab-ilitation activity requirement.