Man threatened to burn mum’s house down while living in tent in her garden

The man also threatened to ‘smash’ the head in of another woman

A man who threatened to burn his mum’s house down after he “acted out in the heat of the moment” has been handed a suspended sentence. Reece McKay, 27 and of no fixed abode, appeared at Huntingdon Law Courts to face several charges on Tuesday (August 18).

The charges included threatening to burn down his mother’s house in Peterborough on June 6, 2026, as well as assaulting his mother on the same date. He also faced charges for stealing milk bottles from a woman in Peterborough on June 25 and threatening to “smash her head in” through a public communication network.

Prosecutor James Quelch told the court that McKay had left one of his victims “very shaky”. Oliver Barrett, for the defence, told the court that when McKay was first questioned by police after threatening to burn down his mother’s house, he was “very erratic and very volatile”.

However, the defence said McKay found the situation “difficult to talk about”. Mr Barrett said McKay had moved from his home address in Eastern Avenue, Peterborough, where he lived with his mum, and he tried to live with a friend, but this didn’t work out.

He then tried to move back in with his mum, but she would “not let him live in the house and he lived in a tent outside,” said Mr Barrett. The court heard that McKay had to “ask permission” to shower and use the toilet inside the house.

Mr Barrett said McKay felt “belittled” by this. The situation then led to an argument with his mum and he “acted out in the heat of the moment”. McKay had been remanded in custody since June 29.

Mr Barrett told the court that prison was a “shock to the system” for McKay. The court also heard that McKay was a man of “previous good character”.

McKay also faced a charge of being in possession of bladed article in a public place, namely a meat cleaver, on June 28 in an area of Peterborough. Mr Barrett asked the court to consider McKay’s guilty plea for this charge.

The two other charges were for possession of a Class A drug and possession of a Class B drug. McKay also pleaded guilty to these charges.

For the possession of the meat cleaver, Judge Mr Riddington JP handed McKay a 12 month prison sentence, suspended for 24 months. He was also required to undertake 40 days of rehabilitation activities. He was then handed a nine-week prison sentence for the threat to property, to run concurrent with the custodial time he had already served.

McKay was also asked to pay £50 compensation following the assault on his mother, and £100 in compensation to the woman who he stole milk bottles from. He was not ordered to pay any costs or victim surcharges.