A social club stewardess bravely tried to fend off an armed intruder by whacking him with a bar towel.
A silent alarm had alerted the woman, her husband and son that someone had broken into the club, downstairs from where they live.
When the trio went to investigate, they found John Charlton had broken in and was in the process of stealing bottles of spirits.
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Charlton, described as being "like a cornered animal", brandished a knife at the family as they sought to detain him.
CCTV footage shows the stewardess at Leam Lane Social Club, in Gateshead, trying to hit him with a tea or bar towel as he waves the knife towards them.
Her husband then puts the shutters of the bar down to try to capture Charlton, who managed to flee in another direction.
Now the 34-year-old, of Woodwynd , Leam Lane Estate, who has 135 previous convictions, has been jailed for 27 months for aggravated burglary.
Kevin Wardlaw, prosecuting, said it was on September 22 last year that Charlton broke into the social club.
On hearing the family coming downstairs, Charlton is seen to try to flee but finds there is no way out through the cellar and returns to behind the bar.
Mr Wardlaw said: "They tried to detain him and he produces a knife, which he appears to have picked up from behind the bar.
"He gets up on the counter at one stage and shouts 'right that's it' but they push him back."
Charlton managed to escape with three bottles of spirits, keys and the knife, the total value of which was £70.
The son of the steward and stewardess said in a victim impact statement: "This made me worried and scared about living in my own home.
"The fact he was waving a knife violently towards us made me scared for our lives.
"I feared for the safety of my family."
The court heard Charlton acted out of a desperation to get away and Recorder Christopher Williams said: "The expression cornered animal springs to mind."
Charlton's previous convictions include eight for burglary of commercial premises and homes.
David Callan, defending, said: "He has asked, through me, to apologise to the victims.
"He is embarrassed at what he did.
"He says this is ridiculous offending."
