Mansfield man leapt from upstairs window after seeing people coming out of the walls to hurt him

John Payne knocked on his neighbour’s side window while wielding a large kitchen knife and shouting, "Get the police, get the police," on September 13, said prosecutor Lucy Woodcock.

"His neighbour thought this was a strange thing to say, and said, "Give me the knife," and the defendant handed it over," said Morgan Hogarth, mitigating.

"The officers thought he was having a mental health episode or was under the influence of drugs."

They had already been called once to the address by Payne, aged 50, when he thought he was being burgled earlier that day, he added.

The defendant broke his ankle after jumping from the first floor window of his address and was taken to hospital.

"We have something of a connundrum," Mr Hogarth said. "He gave a no-coment interview. He is a man of previous good character.

"He made the first unwise, but not unlawful, decision, when he invited a woman of negotiable virtue to attend at his address.

"She brought a friend and they offered him what he believed was cocaine. He is not a habitual user of drugs but had gone through a stressful event and made the decision to take the drug.

"He made the call to the police and that was where things started going wrong. He came downstairs to use the toilet and found the back door was open. He began to hear noises.

"He knows now he was seeing things that weren't there. He was absolutely certain people were coming out of the walls.

"He was driven out of his mind by fear and jumped out of the window and broke his ankle - and that's when he went to his neighbours. It's very unusual circumstances."

"He had no intention to cause fear or alarm. He has apologised to his neighbour."

Payne, of Cairngorm Drive, Mansfield, admitted possessing a knife in a public place, when he appeared at Mansfield Magistrates Court, on Tuesday.

He was fined £733 with a £293 surcharge and £85 costs.