A BANK worker was the author of his own misfortune after taking out a loan with underworld criminals who torched his car and set his home on fire, a judge said.

Judge Michael Cartlidge launched a scathing attack on David Baker after the 23-year-old turned to the criminal fraternity to bankroll the purchase of an £18,000 Audi A5.

But when he couldn’t make the repayments, the vehicle was set on fire and a well-known Wearside gangster ordered that his front door be set alight with his partner and child inside the house. Fuelled by paranoia, Barker, who worked as a sales manager for Barclays, armed himself with two machetes purchased from a shop in Sunderland and drove through Seaham looking for a safe refuge.

And he brandished the 15in blades at innocent motorist Lee Atkinson and screamed: “Do you want some, you little ****?”

Sentencing Baker to six months in prison, Judge Cartlidge criticised his actions and said he may never truly know why he was subjected to a very real and genuine threat.

Judge Cartlidge said: “There’s an unpleasant gangster who’s in the background and posed a genuine and real threat with the car and his home being set on fire.

“But I think if the defendant looks at how he became enthralled to a gangster for a loan to invest in a car worth £18,000 when he has given up work on a temporary basis, he’s the author of his own misfortune.”