BURNLEY'S top judge has slammed as "Alice in Wonderland" a case in which she wants a violent drug-induced psychotic to get help but he can't have it as he has nowhere to live.

Judge Barbara Watson says she is determined father-of-two Karl Weaver, 25, who threatened to kill his then partner and attacked her father and two police officers, will get help, to benefit the public.

Burnley Crown Court has heard the judge wanted Weaver, who has spent 140 days on remand and was said to have "transformed", to be given education and support to stop him reoffending. She had been trying to get him a place at a probation hostel but no places were available to him and programmes were not on offer while he had no fixed address.

Weaver, from Padiham, was remanded in custody until July 26, to see if he can be found a home or a place at a hostel. He has admitted two counts of assault with intent to resist arrest, assault causing actual bodily harm, making a threat to kill and harassment.

Judge Watson said: "I really don't want to be defeated in this. I would like the defendant to have an opportunity to build on the improvements he has made." She told Weaver: "I don't think we should give up. I am determined we are going to do something constructive with you."

Amanda Johnson, prosecuting, told the court Weaver punched his partner's father Mark Stowell to the head after being refused more drink at a family gathering. The victim suffered a broken nose, two loose teeth and a fracture to a bone in his right hand. Police attended, the defendant was abusive, lunged at one officer and tried to headbutt another, catching his lip.

Weaver threatened to rip off partner Melanie Harrington's head, phoned her day and night, told her somebody was going to shoot her and she would get a kicking. He called her telling her not to go to Padiham as a lot of people were after her and sent her a text messages saying: "Suicide is painless. Death is very easy. It's the ones you leave behind it's hard for."

Miss Johnson said Weaver later went voluntarily to Padiham police station, said he had breached bail and was going to kill his girlfriend. He told officers: "Arrest me or I am going to cut my girlfriend up into pieces." Hugh Barton, defending, said the offences were quite worrying and took place against a background of the disintegration of Weaver's mental health. He had started to misuse amphetamine and began to inject large quantities of it.

He descended into psychosis and that was the trigger for the offences. Since the defendant had been in custody his mood had stabilised and there had been a transformation.

He was now lucid. The relationship with Miss Harrington was over but Weaver would like to see his children.