A struggling drug addict damaged a home and threatened to stab his friend after he was invited to stay in an "act of kindness".

Grant Harvey, 32, threw paint over a bedroom, smashed a TV and scratched a mirror before stealing various items.

Southampton Crown Court heard how the heroin addict had been invited to stay at a friend’s home in Southampton after he vowed he was clean of drugs.

But after a number of incidents that led him to being kicked out, Harvey turned up at the home on May 1 armed with a screwdriver and Stanley knife blades, the court was told.

He saw another man at the property who he threatened with the screwdriver before throwing it at him.

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He made a number of threats, saying “I will cut you” and threatening to stab the owner of the property upon his return home.

The man then retreated to the shed, locking himself in and making a call to the owner who called 999.

Harvey went into the home, smashing a TV by pulling it from its stand, damaging a bedroom and throwing paint over the walls, headboard, carpet and bedsheets.

He went on to steal fake Rolex watches and the keys to a van before leaving.

The owner of the home returned home and was threatened by Harvey who shouted: “You’re dead. I will be back.

“This isn’t it. You haven’t seen nothing yet.”

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He was later found and arrested with the screwdriver and blades in Kendal Avenue, nearby.

Prosecutor Keely Harvey said according to a statement made after the incident, the total value of the loss and damage was around £10,000 - but the court did not receive proof of the actual figure.

She added that the owner had been trying to sell the property at the time.

Harvey admitted in interview to having the blades at the time and told police he had been “set up” by the owner of the home, claiming he had been working for him as a painter and decorator.

He denied the threats that he had made but accepted he had taken items from the house because he was “frustrated”.

Harvey, who has eight previous convictions for 38 offences, pleaded guilty to affray, two counts of possessing an offensive weapon, theft and criminal damage.

Speaking at his sentencing on Monday, Judge Advocate John Atwill said: “These offences all occurred in or near a home to which you had been invited as an act of kindness as you were homeless and you were struggling with drug addiction.

“This was a prolonged incident. You intended to cause significant damage there and that is what you did.

“This was effectively home invasion. You were motivated by an intention to cause harm.”

Harvey was jailed for 28 weeks.

A deprivation order was made for the screwdriver and blades.

Mitigating, Oliver Hirsch said: “This was an offence committed in desperate circumstances.

“He does seem to have been trying to become drug-free. He approached that in a way that was perhaps unsupervised that led to these consequences.

“He does have significant remorse for what he has done.”

In a letter to the judge, Harvey, of Winchester Road, said: “I am sorry for both the physical damage I have done as well as the mental and emotional stress I have caused.

“I became paranoid my friends were against me. I now understand and accept that I was the problem.”