A MAN with a drink problem hurled a plant pot through the window of a cancer victim's home and stole three china figurines.

Anthony Bradbury also stole from a friend's house and smashed a window with a chunk of cement, Worcester Crown Court heard.

He warned the second victim Barry Parker that he was "dead" if he complained to police. But Mr Parker overpowered him with the help of friends, said prosecutor Richard Atkins.

Bradbury, aged 39, of Windsor Drive, Kidderminster, pleaded guilty to theft, destroying property and threatening behaviour.

Judge David McEvoy QC said he was prepared to give the defendant a chance to solve his alcohol abuse.

He deferred sentence for six months and promised a non-custodial penalty if he kept out of trouble. If he offended in the meantime, he could expect an 18-month jail term.

Bradbury, who had already spent seven months in custody on remand, thanked the judge from the dock.

"I'm definitely going to Alcoholics Anonymous to get my life in order," he said.

He first targeted Mr Parker - whose niece Bradbury had a relationship with - on March 19 after calling at his Kidderminster home, said Mr Atkins.

While Mr Parker was out shopping for a short time, Bradbury, the worse for drink, stole a china figurine and two snuff boxes from the mantelpiece.

Later the same day, he called on Judith Pardoe, the mother of his former girlfriend. She was disabled with multiple sceloris and bladder cancer.

Mrs Pardoe thought he was drunk and refused to let him into her Kidderminster home. He banged on her door, threw a pot through the window, then leant in and stole three china figurines, said Mr Atkins.

Two months later Bradbury again went to Mr Parker's home and suggested they could "sort out" the theft, said Mr Atkins. Mr Parker bluntly refused and Bradbury became aggressive, smashed his window and issued the death threat.

Bradbury had a string of previous convictions going back to 1988. They included burglary, theft, damage, deception and alcohol-related driving offences.

Adam Western, defending, told the court that alcohol was the route of his client's problem.

"It's plain when he's in drink that he makes a nuisance of himself," he said.