A Westport man who threatened to shoot people unless his tax debt was wiped was jailed for two years when he appeared in the Westport District Court.

Wayne William Anderson, 45, was sentenced to two years in jail for drink-driving, possessing a rifle and ammunition and holding a firearm without a licence.

On July 22, Anderson was phoning Inland Revenue when he threatened to go out and start shooting people within 30 minutes if his debts were not cleared.

Police found Anderson 50 minutes later with a loaded rifle, 72 rounds of ammunition and bottles of spirits in his car.

His lawyer, Doug Taffs, said Anderson’s offending followed the tragic death of his son. His stress was exacerbated by the tax department trying to recover child support debt.