A POLICEMAN told how he thought he was going to die when he was held at knifepoint after stumbling into a furious domestic row.

PC Anthony Carty described how he "felt the blood drain from him" as Robert Monarch held the knife to his throat.

Newcastle Crown Court heard how PC Carty and PC David Rolls were called to a domestic row at Chapplegarth, Sunderland, last November.

They were confronted by Monarch, 19, holding his girlfriend, Nicola Thompson, and his brother, Paul, at knifepoint.

David Smith, for the prosecution, told the court how PC Carty, who was not wearing a stab-proof vest, confronted Monarch as he waved the blade just inches from his chest.

Mr Smith said: "The officer described how he could feel the knife across his throat as Monarch shouted to other officers. If you come any closer I'll slit his throat wide open.

"PC Carty's life flashed before him. He thought he was going to die."

Other officers eventually stormed the house and tackled Monarch to the floor.

Robert Patton, defending, said Monarch snapped after his girlfriend told him she had been sleeping with his brother.

He said: "The comments were untrue, all calculated to wound the defendant. The result was explosive."

Monarch, now living in Middlesbrough, was sentenced to six months in a young offenders' institution after admitting affray and three charges of making threats to kill.