A judge said a St George man was doing so well in prison he was minded to keep him there as long as he could.

James Oak, 21, of Furber Court, had been remanded in custody after pleading guilty to handling stolen goods and threatening to take revenge.

Judge David Ticehurst heard that while inside he had got off drugs, stopped smoking, learned to read and write and was working in the laundry.

The judge told him: "My concern is he is doing so well in prison at the moment, why interrupt the progress he is making?

"Wouldn't it help him and society if I kept him there for as long as I could, legally, and disregarding the sentencing guidelines?

"It might do him the world of good. Thinking about being released, he might be a decent young man."

Oak told the judge: "I want to get back in the community and be a good person out of jail, not in jail."

The judge handed him a nine-month prison sentence, but suspended it for a year.

He ordered Oak to be supervised for a year and attend specified activities as directed by the probation service. Nigel Fryer, prosecuting, said Oak was seen working on a motorcycle by his girlfriend's mother, Helen Ellis.

Suspecting the bike wasn't his she contacted the police, the court heard, and Oak was arrested.

Mr Fryer said it transpired the bike had been taken from the Superbike business in Brislington, and having been arrested Oak was released the same day.

The court was told he then saw Mrs Ellis and told her he was going to have her shot and send someone after her.

She later heard him call her a "whore" over the telephone, and threaten to beat her up and smash up her house. Oak had eight previous convictions including burglary and theft, the court heard.

Tabitha Macfarlane, defending, stressed it had not been Mrs Ellis' intention for Oak to be arrested, but she had been concerned Oak was falling in with the wrong crowd.

"What he did was quite unforgivable," she said. "Helen Ellis says she has sons of 6ft or more, the defendant is a much smaller man, and in her whole life she has not been spoken to like this. She was horrified and shocked by his behaviour."

Miss Macfarlane said that her client had applied himself in custody to the extent he was now able to fill in job applications and write to his girlfriend, who is expecting their first child in February.

The judge said if Oak breached the terms of his sentence he would be back before him and he would go to prison.