A MAN pointed a gun in his mother's face and threatened to shoot her, a court was told.

Burnley Magistrates heard how John Clark, 25, struck his mother in the mouth with the butt of the air rifle, bursting her lip.

The defendant, who turned to alcohol after his parents recently split up, then took her bank card and withdrew about £200. Prosecutor Alex Mann said: "It's worrying that somebody can have possession of an air rifle and behave like that towards somebody when in drink."

The defendant, of Parish Street, Padiham, admitted assaulting Jean Clark by beating and theft. He was bailed until July 9, for a pre-sentence report and the bench told him they were not ruling out custody.

He must not contact his mother or go within 100 metres of her address.

Mrs Mann said on May 22, the defendant had been given a community order with supervision for harassing his 59 year old mother and taking her car whilst drunk. The pair lived together and on Saturday he was at home drunk. He could not remember what happened, but would say if his mother said it took place, it did.

He asked her for some money, she refused, a row followed and Clark called his mother names. Mrs Clark tried to stop him leaving with an air rifle, but he pulled it from her hands and knocked her onto the floor. The victim was frightened, screaming and crying.

Mrs Mann said Mrs Clark's son then pointed the gun in her face and told her: "If you don't shut up I am going to kill you."

The victim knocked the rifle away from her face and was hit in the mouth. The defendant was later arrested.

John Rusius, defending, said life had been going well for Clark. He had had a good job and a relationship but his parents' break-up had had a particularly adverse effect upon him.

His mother had had a nervous breakdown and the defendant had gone from a position where he had everything going to where he seemed to have nothing. He had lost his job and partner and his future looked very bleak. Clark had been to the Bull Street alcohol clinic.