A TALSARN man threatened to kill emergency service workers and “cut their heads off with a samurai sword”, magistrates have heard.

Paul Lesley Dennis Bythell, of 21 Maesaeron, pleaded guilty to sending an offensive or menacing message by a communication network after he made two abusive and threatening 999 calls in the early hours of 2 January.

Prosecutor Steve Davies said the first 999 call had been made from a landline at 27-year-old Bythell’s home shortly after 1pm when he told an ambulance call handler that he had been drinking and had taken a number of tablets.

But he refused to give the call handler his address and became abusive and aggressive.

Despite the call handler trying to calm Bythell down and reason with him, he continued to shout and swear and be aggressive before hanging up. He made a second call shortly after and again was abusive and aggressive to the call handler.

When the handler said they were going to locate his address and send police officers and an ambulance Bythell insisted he would “kill every one of them”.

Bythell then said he would use a samurai sword to cut off the head of any police officer who attended at his home.

When the call handler heard screaming, she asked who else was in the house but Bythell would only say his girlfriend was on a webcam.

Following the threats he had made, armed police turned up at Bythell’s house by which time he had calmed down. He did, though, lead officers to a storage cupboard where they found a samurai sword, although Mr Davies said the sword had not been easily accessible.

Bythell told police he couldn’t remember the incident, but said he had been taking medication and drinking.

Defence solicitor Alan Lewis said Bythell had listened to the calls during a police interview and had been “horrified”.

He said: “He really cannot believe it was him and if it weren’t for the accent and the voice he wouldn’t believe it was him.”

Mr Lewis said Bythell had been going through family issues which had “got on top of him” and combined with the alcohol and medication had led to his problems.

Bythell had been “very, very grateful” for how the police had treated him and Mr Lewis said that Bythell had received assistance from several agencies which had helped him address several issues and led to his outlook improving.

Magistrates adjourned sentencing in the case until a pre-sentence report can be completed.

Bythell was released on conditional bail until a sentencing hearing on 9 March.