A 34-year-old man has been spared an immediate jail sentence for wounding his father with a cheese knife after the judge heard of his “great strides” to address his drug and alcohol addiction.

Damian Peyton, of Greenhead Road, Keighley, threw punches at his father and cut him with the knife after becoming agitated at the family home on March 10.

Bradford Crown Court on Tuesday heard that his father needed five stitches in his neck. He wanted his son to seek help and not to go to prison.

Peyton, who pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding, was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, with a drug rehabilitation requirement.

The court heard that he took to drink and drugs after his business went wrong five years ago.

Peyton’s solicitor advocate, Ian Hudson, said the assault was “a wake-up call”. He now attended many projects to address his problems.

He tended an allotment and was a regular churchgoer.

The judge, Recorder Michael Smith, said it was “a particularly nasty incident”.

But Peyton’s father did not suffer any long-term damage and had not wanted the prosecution to go ahead.