A man who armed himself with a sword and a "potentially murderous" bow and arrow during a dispute has been jailed.

Liam Dunn fetched the mediaeval-style weapon and an 18-inch sword from his bedroom when Zac Rhodes, 32, arrived at their communal home late on September 3 last year, said Danielle Gilmour, prosecuting at York Crown Court.

Two eyewitnesses who also lived in the house retreated upstairs to their rooms.

Dunn put an arrow in the bow and pointed it at Rhodes, the court heard.

But Rhodes knocked the bow out of the way and punched Dunn to the ground.

There was a history of problems between the two, said Ms Gilmour.

Defence barrister Emily Hassell said Dunn had felt threatened.

“He never used them (the weapons), was never going to use them," she said. 

Dunn had objected to housing officers about Rhodes and him sharing the supported accommodation because of the problems between them.

The Recorder of York, Judge Sean Morris, told Dunn: “You came down with a potentially murderous, absolutely murderous weapon.” 

He warned that if the arrow had been released and hit Rhodes, it would have “gone through his head” and Dunn would have charged with murder.

“That is how stupid getting a weapon is. Anybody who arms themselves with a sword or a lethal weapon cannot expect not to go to prison immediately,” the judge said.

He accepted that Rhodes had “beaten up” Dunn after the arrow was pointed at him.

He described the bow as an “archer’s” bow and not a crossbow.

Dunn, 33, of Manor Hill, Scarborough, pleaded guilty to affray and was jailed for six months. He has a history of violence and criminal damage offences.

Ms Gilmour said at some stage during the incident the arrow was released because police later found it in a garden. It was not clear how it came to be released.

For Dunn, Emily Hassell said he had the weapons as “items of interest”.

The judge, who had seen CCTV of the bow and arrow incident, said Dunn was “whacked” in the face by Rhodes and knocked down, got up and was “whacked” in the face again.

Ms Hassell said Rhodes was “certainly gunning” for Dunn.

Rhodes, of Albemarle Crescent, Scarborough, pleaded guilty to using threatening words and behaviour at Scarborough Magistrates' Court and was given a six-month conditional discharge.

Charges of causing actual bodily harm to Dunn and another man, which Rhodes had denied, were dropped by the prosecution.