A Shropshire man standing trial for strangling his daughter calmly told his son he would kill his sister and mother, a court has heard.

Gurmeet Singh Ubhi, 54, denies murdering 24-year-old Amrit Kaur Ubhi at their home in Telford. But his son Harmeet Singh Ubhi, giving evidence yesterday, said threats has been made in the past.

He said his father told him he would kill his mother and sister if they pushed him too far after a row broke out in the house.

Harmeet Singh Ubhi said: “He ended it (an argument) by saying ‘I’m at my wits end now. I have reached my limit and I will kill one of them, or both of them, if they push me too far’.

“He was talking about my mother and sister and he was really calm.”

Jurors at Leicester Crown Court also heard Ubhi began to reject his children once he moved out of the family home after he separated from his wife.

On one occasion, Harmeet Singh Ubhi said he went to console his father after his grandmother (Ubhi’s mother) died but he was turned away from his father’s house.

He said: “We tried on occasion to try and get in touch with him to see if we could keep in touch with our dad. At every stage he just ignored us.”

Harmeet Singh Ubhi said he remembered worrying about his father once again when he was sent to prison for attacking his second wife with a chisel in 2004.

He said: “My intention was, I wanted to help him. He had open arms and was pleased to see me.

“He explained the situation and he needed help so I felt it would be a good time and I wanted to build up the relationship again.

“He (Ubhi) sent a letter to my mum requesting, pleading, her to come. The same with my sister, it was everyone’s choice.”

The court heard when Ubhi was released from prison he spent time living in rented accommodation in Brookside and Wellington in Telford before the family bought their current home in Berberis Road. But tensions began to grow between the family again and Ubhi started to distance himself from them.

Harmeet Singh Ubhi, who runs a taxi business in Telford, added his father started verbally abusing Miss Ubhi over her relationship with a white English soldier.

He added the family had come to an arrangement where Ubhi would move out.

The trial continues.