A LOCHGELLY father who brandished a knife at his partner and young son has been jailed.

The 10-year-old boy became hysterical he was so frightened by the incident. Bernard Fitzpatrick also seized hold of the child by the neck leaving marks.

Fitzpatrick, 33, of Lochgelly, previously admitted that on September 29 at an address in Lochgelly, he did behave in a threatening or abusive manner which was likely to cause a reasonable person to suffer fear or alarm in that he did shout, swear, act in an aggressive manner towards his partner and son, aged 10, seize hold of said child by the neck, repeatedly refuse to leave said property and did brandish a knife.

Dunfermline Sheriff Court heard on Wednesday that Fitzpatrick and his partner had been together for 11 years at the time and had two children together; a ten-year-old and a two-week old.

The accused had been consuming alcohol throughout the day and was becoming increasingly more abusive towards his son, taking out his low mood on him for the best part of the evening.

His behaviour caused an argument to break out with his partner and he started to shout and swear at both her and the child.

Depute fiscal, Azrah Yousaf, said Fitzpatrick called his partner a "slag" and "slut".

The situation continued for some time before the accused receded to the kitchen and took a knife from the drawer.

He brandished the weapon and said he was going to take himself hostage.

"Upon saying this the 10-year-old became hysterical and was screaming," Ms Yousaf said.

"He then told the boy to find his keys, having blamed him for losing them earlier on.

"At 2.45am the complainer was in the kitchen and was able to contact the police.

"Whilst doing so she heard the 10-year-old scream.

"The accused had grabbed him by the back of the neck and she saw marks on the boy’s neck."

Fitzpatrick became aware that the police had been called which caused him to become more angry.

Unable to get out the front door, he climbed out of the living room window and down the drain pipe leaving before the police had arrived.

Neighbours had been woken up by the child and complainer screaming at that point too.

Fitzpatrick was detained nearby but had sustained an injury due to climbing down the drain pipe and had to be taken to Victoria Hospital.

Defence solicitor, James Moncrieff, said: "This offence is an unfortunate one from Mr Fitzpatrick's point of view.

"He was released from custody last October, had been in a long-term relationship with the complainer and they got back together at this time.

"His second child has just been born. Essentially there was a frustration that he had missed most of the child's life.

"He had alcohol to wet the baby's head and from there it quickly went downhill.

"He is disgusted and ashamed of himself.

"His partner has visited him in custody and he is keen to return to the family home as soon as possible.

"However, he knows that he may have to stay away from the family for a while to prove himself."

Sheriff Charles Macnair said: "This was a very nasty offence against both your partner and your 10-year-old son.

"You brandished a knife which he found very frightening, not surprisingly, and you seized him by the neck.

"At the time of the offence you were still serving the second half of a custodial sentence.

"In my view having regard to your record there is no alternative but custody."

The Sheriff imposed a jail sentence of 180 days.