A LOCHGELLY youth threatened his mother and later slashed his own arm with a meat cleaver in an attempt to scare her.

The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared for sentencing at Dunfermline Sheriff Court on Wednesday.

He had previously admitted that on May 4 this year, at a property in the town, he had behaved in a threatening or abusive manner by shouting, swearing, threatening violence to his mother, punching holes in a wall, throwing household items, kicking and punching a door, breaking a garden gate and, with a knife, repeatedly striking his arm, causing injury to it.

Depute Fiscal, Dev Kapadia, said the 16 year-old had a"toxic relationship" with his mother and had been advised not to go back to her house.

On the day of the offence, he had come to the family home and his brother heard him shouting "You are a f****** cow and a f****** boot".

On coming into the property, he shouted "I am going to stab her and kill her, I am going to smash up her car."

He threw an iron to the floor, punched and kicked a bedroom door and a fist size hole was found in the dining room wall while the garden gate was off its hinges.

He later called his mother while she was at the gym and said: "I have just smashed up the f****** house."

Police came and the teenager appeared calm and it was agreed he would go to his grandmother's. However, he returned to the house and was told to leave.

He became abusive and opened the kitchen drawer and picked out a meat cleaver which he then stroked across his arm approximately three times.

His mother then saw him go for a second knife from the drawer and thought she was going to be in danger so ran outside.

The youth, who had three minor superficial cuts as a result of the incident, told police he had "no intention of harming his mother" but was using it as a method of scaring her away as they had been arguing.

Defence solicitor, Roshni Joshi said the incident was "wholly unpleasant".

"He has certain difficulties as to anger management and it is fair to say that is evident," she told the Court. "He wholly accepts his behaviour was unpleasant and unacceptable."

Sheriff James Macdonald placed the youth on a structured deferred sentence for three months. He will return to court on August 28.