SOUTH SHIELDS: A Travis Perkins employee, Paul Cross turned up Travis Perkins builder's merchants, in South Shields, armed with a blade after his wife, employed at the branch, refused to talk to him by phone.
Newcastle Crown Court was told that Mr Cross grabbed branch manager Anthony Bacovich by the collar and held the weapon to his throat before staff, including Mrs Cross, intervened to prevent injury.
The court heard how Mr Cross "snapped" after he rang the depot twice but Bacovich said Mrs Cross could not come to the phone.
Mr Cross, who worked for the same firm at a different site, admitted affray and possession of a bladed article. He was sentenced to six months prison, suspended for two years, with supervision and 150 hours unpaid work.
Accepting Mr Cross's remorse, the judge said: "Marriage breakdowns are not easy, people do not think rationally."
