A controlling boyfriend who threatened to shoot his girlfriend’s mum and brother during a street confrontation has been jailed for 32 months.

A court heard today how Jordan Ratcliffe placed the barrel of an air rifle onto the lips of his girlfriend’s mum and when she backed off he followed her to a nearby parked car driven by her son.

Judge Andrew Hatton said Ratcliffe then threatened to shoot both of them and even stuck the barrel of the rifle through one of the car’s open windows.

The complainants managed to drive off and Ratcliffe was later arrested with a knuckle duster in his possession.

Ratcliffe, 22, of Southmere Crescent, Great Horton, Bradford, pleaded guilty on the day of his trial to two charges of possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and also admitted unlawful possession of the knuckle duster.

Prosecutor Roger Brown outlined details of Ratcliffe’s controlling and coercive behaviour towards his then girlfriend and said that on the night of the offences he had demanded that she come and see him at his home.

The woman’s mum and brother also drove to the address and when her mother asked Ratcliffe what was going on he told her to **** off and produced the air rifle.

In victim impact statements the mother and son both described suffering sleepless nights and flashbacks of the events which happened in August 2020.

Barrister Paul Canfield, for Ratcliffe, told Bradford Crown Court that his client was now a different man from the one he was in 2020.

He said Ratcliffe had been struggling with paranoia and schizophrenia at the time but he was now engaging with his treatment and making progress.

Mr Canfield conceded it was a serious incident, but he submitted it had been a one-off.

Judge Andrew Hatton imposed a 10-year restraining order which bans Ratcliffe from contacting the two victims and his former girlfriend.

He said the relationship bore all the hallmarks of a controlling and coercive one and Ratcliffe had asked his girlfriend to attend at his home alone that night.

“She was concerned, and one can understand why, and she spoke to her family about it and in fact her family attended at your home,” said the judge.

He said the female complainant was understandably terrified when Ratcliffe raised the gun to her lips and she ran back to the car.

Judge Hatton said the victim impact statements were powerful documents indicating the anxiety caused by Ratcliffe’s offending.

He said Ratcliffe’s offending that night had been persistent and there was a strong background of controlling and coercive behaviour on his part.