A CONVICTED rapist threatened to stab his brother with a knife before punching him repeatedly in the face during a row over noise.

Karim Barton’s mother leapt to defend her younger son Omar and put herself between the pair when he threatened to “stick the blade in him”.

Meirion Davies, prosecuting, said the defendant had armed himself with a kitchen knife after flying into a rage at their house in Usk last month.

He told Cardiff Crown Court: “Their mother put herself between them and Karim Barton returned with a black handled kitchen knife.

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“He said, ‘I want to stick it in him. I want to show him.’

“His mother pleaded with him to put the knife down which he did.

“The defendant then punched his brother to the face before Omar was able to escape.

“Karim followed him. Omar ran out of the house and their mother locked the door with the defendant inside.

“He went upstairs and jumped out of his bedroom window.

“Their mother then let Omar back into the house and reversed the situation by locking the defendant out.

“Karim then picked up a garden fork and hit the door until it smashed before Omar jumped out of the living room window.”

It was at this point that the police arrived and they arrested the defendant.

The 28-year-old, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to affray and criminal damage on May 6.

He has previous convictions for rape, affray and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Cardiff Crown Court heard Karim Barton had arrived in the country from Zimbabwe as a boy and could now be deported from the UK.

Gareth Williams, representing the defendant, said: “His mother is in court today to support her son.

“She loves him and worries about him.

“There’s nothing like brothers for arguing. He would never have used the knife.

“He loves his brother. It was an extreme way to behave.

“The defendant still thinks the world of his family and he knows this was entirely his fault.

“He is genuinely sorry for what he has done.”

The judge, Recorder IWL Jones, told Karim Barton: “You had been drinking and you lost your temper over something trivial.

“You punched your brother in the face and threatened to stab him.

“You should be thoroughly ashamed of yourself.

“This must have been terrifying for your mother and brother.”

The judge added that the defendant had been assessed as posing a “high risk of serious harm to the public”.

He was jailed for 12 months.