A furious father threatened to attack his girlfriend's mother with a baseball bat.

Lee Martin, 26 , flipped after an anonymous tip-off to Social Services that his daughter was living in a "violent" house.

Lewes Crown Court was told how Martin blamed his partner's mother Gillian Caswell and stormed round to her home in Alder Copse, Horsham, brandishing the bat.

He then fled the scene before handing himself in at Horsham Police Station, telling officers: "You better lock me up or I'll kill her."

Prosecutor Marcus Fletcher told the court the attack happened at about 4.20pm on May 7 this year.

He said that Ms Caswell, who had tried to talk to Martin about his relationship with her daughter, was watching TV when Martin stormed in.

Mr Fletcher said: "The defendant appeared outside and yanked at a window before walking in through the un-locked front door saying, 'You dobbed me in to Social'.

"He was carrying a baseball bat and stood in front of Gillian Caswell as she sat in the lounge on her sofa.

"He was about 3ft from her and she described herself as shaking like a leaf. He repeated that she had dobbed him in to Social. She denied it as did Leslie King.

"The defendant caller her a liar and said, 'I know you done it, I'm going to hit you, I'm going to hit you.”

He added: "He grabbed her by her jumper and pushed her, shouting and waving the bat above her head backwards and forwards.

"She got to the telephone and called the police before the defendant simply walked out.”

Martin told police he had received a letter the previous day telling him there had been an anonymous tip-off to Social Services that his daughter was living in a violent house.

He said he used to fight with his girlfriend but had totally changed and was no longer violent towards her after he lost a stillborn child He said he knew it was his girlfriend's mother who tipped off Social Services so went to her house and "kicked off".

He added that if the attack happened on the day he received the letter "I would probably be in prison for murder now".

Martin was jailed for two-and-a-half years.