A 49-year-old father who hit out with a police truncheon to protect his son from a group of men outside his home has been given a suspended jail sentence.

Simon Pearce was at his flat in Port Street, Evesham, when a group of seven or eight men arrived looking for his son, Charles Hardy, prosecuting, told Worcester Crown Court.

His son, 17-year-old Henry Woods, who lived at the same address, was out and Pearce told the men to come back later.

They went outside but Pearce heard glass smashing and feared for the safety of his son, who was on his way home.

He took a foot-long police truncheon and went outside, where he confronted the group and hit two of the men.

One of them needed hospital treatment for a small head wound.

Woods then arrived with his friend Thomas Gurney, also 17, of Deace Street, Evesham, and they got involved by hitting two of the other men.

Pearce pleaded guilty to assault causing actual bodily harm and was given a six-month sentence suspended for 12 months.

Woods was given an eight-month youth rehabilitation order after admitting affray and Gurney, who is under licence for a detention and training order, was given a conditional discharge after he admitted battery.

Pearce also admitted possession of a weapon, namely a pepper spray, and cannabis worth between £10 and £20, both of which were found in his flat.

He also admitted common assault, but was given no separate penalty for these.

Donald Tait, defending Woods and Pearce, said Pearce was teetotal and rarely left his flat as he had sciatica. He used the cannabis, which was worth less than £20, to alleviate the symptoms of his condition.

Mr Tait said Pearce also had a collection of militaria, including military bayonets, and the pepper spray he had acquired as a curio.

He had not taken these when he went out to confront the group.

He said the other men had been drinking before the incident on Boxing Day, 2009.

Adam Western, defending Gurney, said he had been in trouble since the incident 21 months ago but there were signs he was now starting to sort his life out.

Judge Toby Hooper said Pearce was provoked by the men who were “aggressive and uninvited” when they arrived at his home and were making demands about a £20 debt they claimed his son owed.

His fear of violence increased when he heard glass smashing outside and thought they had weapons.

“If these men, who are not before the court, had not gone to his home, this would not have happened,” said the judge. “There was a risk of serious public disturbance.”