A DAD going through a cocaine-fuelled psychotic episode stabbed his mother and sister in front of his young son.

Neil Crawford was left in shock when police showed him footage and recited accounts of his vicious attacks on his family at their home in Basildon.

His rampage saw him stab his mother in the cheek and breast, his sister in the arm, and then he tried to take a swipe at his son.

As they shielded from Crawford, his family passed his son over the garden fence to the safety of the neighbours.

Crawford, 31, who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, had been self-medicating with cocaine, but things came to a head on May 22 last year when he took a larger amount than usual.

His mother saw him trying to jump out of the top floor window at the home in Quendon Road, shortly after 7pm.

At Basildon Crown Court for Crawford’s sentencing, Judge Ian Graham told him: “After the family meal you started to act very weirdly, drinking large amounts of water, saying strange things to your son, ‘is he Trump or Boris’, talking about coronavirus.

“Things took a turn for the worse, your mother saw that it looked like you were trying to jump out of the upstairs window with your son. You clearly had lost control of yourself at this stage.

“You started pushing the window and had armed yourself with a vegetable knife. You came downstairs and your sister was coming up. You attacked your sister, pushing her and stabbed her with the knife.

“You stabbed your mother very viciously in her face. You stabbed your mother again in her breast and she actually feared for her life.

“They fled the house and tried to escape.

“But you followed them and tried to slash at your son with the knife, but fortunately that did not connect. He only suffered a very minor injury as a result.

“They ran back into the house and tried to save themselves.”

After his son had been passed to neighbours, Crawford went on a rampage in the street before being tasered by police.

He admitted unlawful wounding of his mum and sister, assaulting his son, and 15 counts of criminal damage.

Mitigation said that Crawford could not recall his behaviour and doctors had confirmed it was a psychotic episode that was “completely out of character”.

Crawford was jailed for two years and six months.