A FORMER soldier racially abused a postmaster and threatened him with a folding saw.

At Bolton Crown Court James Ratcliffe, of Highfield Avenue, Leigh, was jailed for 30 months after previously being found guilty threatening Chaudhary Rahman, who runs the Railway Road post office, Leigh, with a blade.

Kate Hammond, prosecuting, told how Ratcliffe had confronted Mr Rahman at 20 past midnight on May 18 last year, holding the saw just an inch from his face before running off.

Police tracked down Ratcliffe nearby and found the discarded saw in an alleyway.

Kevin Liston, defending, said railway contractor Ratcliffe, had served in the army for two years until 2008 and in 2015 he was an attack victim which led to him suffering from PTSD. He added that Ratcliffe had been carrying the saw to ‘bolster his confidence’.

Sentencing Ratcliffe, Judge Timothy Stead told him;” What you have done is particularly serious.”