A grieving man fell into alcohol addiction and made a series of threats against his own family. Kevin Hawkins said he would kill his own brother and burn down the family farm.
Hawkins, 55, had been staying at his family's Pencwuarra Farm in Markham near Blackwood . Prosecutor Ieuan Bennett told Cardiff Crown Court : "According to family he has suffered mental health problems since he was relatively young. He moved away from Wales some years ago but sadly after the death of his partner he returned to live on the family farm. He ended up in a shed sleeping on hay with a number of farm animals.
"There was something of an ingrained drink problem which worsened after his return to Wales and clearly spiralled somewhat out of control during spring of this year. He bore something of a grudge against his brother David though it appears the family farm itself was and still is owned by the defendant's elderly mother."
