A jealous woman brandished a knife in the street because she believed her husband was having an affair, a court heard.

A neighbour of drunk Norma Dove, who went outside into the road, told how he feared he would be stabbed.

The 61-year-old wife from First Avenue, Queenborough, was facing jail for her third knife offence.

But she walked free after a judge heard her husband Alan had since died and she had stopped drinking as a result.

Judge Martin Huseyin told her: “This is an unusual case. The circumstances in which you stopped drinking are quite tragic.

“The starting point would normally be straight to jail with no question about it.

"It is pretty unusual for me to pass a sentence which is not immediate in relation to this offence.”

Maidstone Crown Court heard Dove called police on October 13 last year, saying she was hurt.

But when officers arrived at her home she opened a bedroom window and shouted: 'What the ---- do you want?'

Officers were concerned for her welfare and went to her bedroom.

"The starting point would normally be straight to jail with no question about it... it is pretty unusual for me to pass a sentence which is not immediate in relation to this offence" - Judge Martin Huseyin

Trevor Wright, prosecuting, said: “She was very drunk and drinking a can of Fosters.

"Police checked she was OK and advised her not to drink any more.”

Shortly after midnight, police received a call from her husband, who lived in a nearby warehouse building, saying she was outside with a knife.

Mr Wright said Mr Dove was the lead singer in a band and his wife was accusing him of having an affair.

He had played bass in Sheppey Pink Floyd tribute band On Thin Ice and was part of the Down and Dirty Blues Band.

Neighbour Daniel Pope heard shouting and screaming and went into the street to see what was happening. Dove then lunged at him with the knife.

Mr Wright said: “He was frightened for his safety and retreated back indoors.

He said: 'I honestly thought she was going to stab me'.

Police went back and found the kitchen knife with a five-inch blade on the living room floor.

Dove told them she was angry and jealous as she believed her husband was in a sexual relationship with another woman.

She admitted possessing the knife shortly before she was due to stand trial.

The court heard Mr Dove died on August 4.

Samantha Wright, defending, said Dove and her husband were living separately but still in a relationship. He had rescued her from appalling treatment by two other men.

Miss Wright said: “She has remained abstinent from alcohol. She finds she is able to stop drinking by setting an action plan.”

Ordering six months alcohol treatment, Judge Huseyin told Dove: “We both know this sort of thing would not happen at all if you were sober.

"You know the worst possible thing for you is to lapse back into drinking.

“I am glad to hear you have been abstinent and doing something about it.

"You have very good motivation to use the help being offered to you.

"It is a serious offence because you really frightened that man, who has put up with bad antisocial behaviour from you in the past.”

He added: “I have decided it would be counter-productive to order immediate imprisonment. I don’t want to see you again.”

He gave her two years in jail, suspended for 14 months.