AN 87-YEAR-OLD pensioner ended up in court after threatening his neighbour with a knife in a row over access to their homes.

Thomas Robins brandished the blade at Steve Lippiatt using a downward stabbing motion, then waved it at him forcing him to move out of the way.

The pensioner, who is virtually deaf, had never been before a court before, his solicitor Thomas Edwards told the Argus.

His wife, Shirley, 81, said he was using the “rounded knife” to apply mastic to a boundary marker post in a driveway giving access to both their properties.

Police turned up in two vans and spoke to the pensioner after Mr Lippiatt recorded the incident on CCTV cameras in his car and his home in Ponthir.

The pensioner, of Station Road, was due to stand trial at Newport Magistrates Court but pleaded guilty to a common assault charge on Monday.

He was given a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £550 prosecution costs plus a £15 surcharge.

This week, Mir Lippiatt spoke of the terrifying moment he was threatened with the blade.

The 60-year-old, said: “He lunged at me with a knife. It was very frightening.

“But I was able to move back out of his way.”

Mr Lippiatt added he was considering moving away from the home he has lived in with his wife, Babs, for more than a decade.

Mrs Robins said her husband was installing the pole on November 12 to show workmen where their driveway started, as they planned to tarmac parts of Station Road.

She said the knife and mastic gun he held in his hands were used to repair the post.

Mrs Robins acknowledged there had been a dispute with their neighbour over access to their homes.

But she said: “It’s an old knife that belonged to my husband’s mother. It has a rounded end. It is not sharp.

“My husband is 87. This has gone on since November. He couldn’t stand the worry. That’s why he pleaded guilty.”

Defending him, Mr Edwards said his client had pleaded guilty to the common assault offence on a basis including a dispute about the marker post.

He said: “Mr Robins, 87 years of age and with no previous convictions, received a 12-month conditional discharge. The court made no order for compensation.”

A Gwent Police spokesman said: “Officers have been called to Station Road, Ponthir, on a number of occasions over a number of years in relation to an ongoing civil dispute between two neighbours.

“The incident which occurred on November 12, 2014, resulted in Thomas Robins being arrested and charged, and subsequently pleading guilty to one count of common assault.

“We accept the decision of the court and hope that the matter is now resolved.”