Sign up to the Hull Live newsletter for daily updates and breaking news Sign up here! Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Invalid Email

A teenager threatened to stab his father in the head because he was angry about being served salad for tea.

Callum Pooley, 19, was at home with his mother and sister on May 17 when his mother "made the mistake of giving him a salad for his tea", Hull Crown Court heard.

Howard Shaw, prosecuting, said: "Well, he took exception to that and turned abusive, turned violent, started punching the door, threw the salad, turned the table over, and was verbally abusive towards his mother. He was told to leave and did so."

Pooley's father was called and came home and packed his son's clothes, which he handed to him on the doorstep when Pooley returned. But this caused further unrest, with the teenager saying "These aren't all my clothes" and other complaints.

Mr Shaw said he "then made threats to smash the windows, kicked a blue recycling bin and produced a fish-paring knife".

Pooley's sister came between him and his father, but Pooley "threatened to stab his father in the head". His father said in response: "If you want to be a man, act like one and walk away." Pooley threw a punch at his father but missed.

Pooley then climbed into the back garden and cut the washing line with the knife, which he later said was to "get a rope so he could hang himself".

'A bit of lettuce isn't tea'

He was arrested after police were called and admitted being abusive to his mother in interview. Mr Shaw said he was "angry being given what he said was 'a piece of lettuce' for his tea".

His father later raised concerns for his son's welfare with witness care, the court heard.

Responding to a possible application for a restraining order, Stephen Robinson, for Pooley, said: "The defendant has been in touch with his family. They speak nearly every day and he has entered the property - ironically for his tea - without any problem whatsoever.

"The defendant would submit this might get in the way of a tentative reconcilliation."

Mr Robinson said of the background to the incident: "He was bullied as a youngster, and rightly or wrongly he feels he didn't receive the support he needed. Whether that's right or not perhaps doesn't matter.

"It's something that's grown in the defendant's mind and led to difficulties which ultimately resulted in the offences on this occasion."

Burglary conviction

Pooley, of no fixed address, admitted threatening behaviour and possession of a bladed article. He had a caution for threatening behaviour in April last year, and was sentenced to a community order last December for dwelling house burglary, which was still in operation at the time of his latest offences.

Recorder Gavin Doing revoked that order and sentenced Pooley to a two-year community order, which includes 150 hours of unpaid work and 30 days rehabilitation.

But the judge warned Pooley he was likely to be jailed if he appeared before the Crown court again. "I'm giving you this chance, please take advantage of it," he said.

"Thank you," said Pooley.

Join our Hull Court News Facebook group We have launched a new Facebook group to bring you all the latest news from Hull's courts. Whether it's Crown Court or Magistrates Court, our group will bring you all the latest updates as criminals are brought to justice. To join our Facebook group, click here.

Get the Hull Live app

The Hull Live app is the home of everything that's happening in Hull.

It's completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and what’s on information. You can download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple's App Store, or get the Android version from Google Play.