Middlesbrough husband waved kitchen knife at paramedics as they tried to help his wife

A drunken husband waved a kitchen knife at paramedics as they tried to help his wife.

Vaclovas Ambrozevicius, 54, drank two bottles of wine and a bottle of vodka the day he lost his job, Teesside Crown Court heard.

An ambulance was called to his home on Weatherhead Avenue, Whinney Banks, Middlesbrough as his wife was suffering chest pains.

Two paramedics were looking after her when Mr Ambrozevicius came towards them holding a kitchen knife with a eight-inch blade at shoulder height.

He was aggressive and extremely drunk as he made stabbing motions just before midnight on December 22 last year.

Prosecutor Jenny Haigh said: “They were both afraid for their safety and had to stop looking after the defendant’s wife to try to calm the defendant down.”

He was arrested in a drunk and agitated state.

One of the paramedics later said: “I have never been in a situation like this whereby I’ve feared for my life and safety. I feel shocked and very upset.”

Ambrozevicius told police he was emotional because his paramedics were at his home tending to his wife.

He claimed he had a knife to open a bottle of vodka and denied jabbing it at the paramedics, saying: “I swear to God I didn’t do it.”

Ambrozevicius pleaded guilty to affray today. He had no previous convictions.

Robert Mochrie, defending, said: “This represents a short-lived blip in an otherwise exemplary life.

“He’s never troubled the courts before. I would submit that he will not trouble the courts again in future.

“He was drunk. That lies at the heart of this matter. He can’t remember what he did that day.

“There was no determined effort to use the knife and he did put the knife away.

“He’s ashamed of his actions. He has no explanation as to why it was he got so blindingly drunk that day.

“It’s quite clear however he was suffering some form of stress at the time.

“This behaviour seems to have coincided with the termination of his employment that day.”

Judge Simon Bourne-Arton QC, the Recorder of Middlesbrough, told Ambrozevicius: “You’ve been in this country for over 10 years and you have no previous convictions.

“You’ve led a good life whilst you’ve been in this country, and I’ve taken that into account, but what you did on that night was very serious.

“Paramedics perform a vital service to the community.

“They do so often in extremely difficult circumstances. They are exposed to any number of different risks.”

He said Ambrozevicius’ drunken, violent behaviour risked both the paramedics and their patient, and merited a prison sentence.

Jail would see him released in two months or less with reduced job prospects, said the judge.

Instead he passed a four-month prison term suspended for 18 months with supervision and 120 hours’ unpaid work.