A Douglas man has been convicted of affray and possessing an offensive weapon after he brandished knives at a ’noisy neighbour’.

James Brent Druggan Fitzgerald, of Woodville Terrace, pleaded guilty to the offences and will be sentenced on August 22.

Prosecutor James Robinson told the court how, on July 14 at 11.22pm, police were called to Woodville Terrace after a report of a neighbourhood dispute.

Fitzgerald’s neighbour told police that the 44-year-old had waved kitchen knives at him outside his flat window, made a throat-slitting gesture and said: ’I will get you one day’.

The neighbour took a picture of Fitzgerald brandishing seven kitchen knives outside his flat which he showed to police.

Police arrested Fitzgerald at his flat and seized the knives.

He was taken to police headquarters where he refused to say much during a interview, claiming that the police were corrupt and that the room was bugged.

Fitzgerald told police: ’Just take me outside, handcuff me to a pole and I’ll tell you everything.’

He was shown the photo of himself brandishing the knives but remained silent.

Defending Fitzgerald in court, his advocate Roger Kane entered a basis of plea in which his client admitted waving the knives around but denied making any throat-slitting gestures, saying that his motions had been misconstrued.

He also claimed that the comment he had made to the neighbour was: ’I will get to speak to you one day’, rather than ’I will get you one day’.

Mr Kane said: ’There has been an escalation of noise and numerous complaints from Mr Fitzgerald to the landlord. He was in his kitchen on the evening of the incident and snapped. He would say that his neighbour made a gesture to him as if to say "just one knife?" So then he came out with seven knives and held them like a deck of cards.’

Deputy High Bailiff Jayne Hughes refused an application for bail and Fitzgerald was remanded in custody.