A "dangerous" father-of-three attacked a man with a shovel and stamped on his leg in a brutal revenge attack.

Reece Cannon, 30, rained blows on Patrick Cleary in the middle of a residential street in Herne Bay during an afternoon in February.

Former Canterbury College student Cannon, of Bay Mews, launched the attack after pulling up in a black car with three others, getting out armed with the shovel and walking towards the victim in an angry state.

He then used the shovel "like a baseball bat", hitting Mr Cleary on the back of the head several times, Canterbury Crown Court heard.

Antony Hook, prosecuting, said: "He raised the shovel like a baseball bat and hit the victim on the back of the head.

"He rained three blows and used the sharp edge of the shovel to hit him in the face, causing a deep gash.

"A fourth blow hit the victim on the leg and he also stamped on Mr Cleary's leg and it broke.

"The defendant could be heard saying 'I don't care, I am going to kill you'.

"Children also witnessed the aftermath of the attack."

The court also heard Cannon only stopped attacking Mr Cleary when one of his friends, who had travelled to the location with him, told him to stop his brutal onslaught.

The incident was witnessed by members of the public who said they saw Cannon use the tool like a baseball bat to attack Mr Cleary.

It was also seen by Mr Cleary's partner, who arrived with her children to find him lying on the ground injured.

Mr Cleary suffered a fracture to his left tibia and a deep laceration to his forehead and shin.

"He rained three blows and then used the sharp edge of the shovel to hit him in the face, causing a deep gash..."

Cannon was arrested a week after the attack and at an earlier hearing admitted grievous bodily harm with intent and possession of an offensive weapon.

On Thursday he was jailed for eight years, He must serve at least two thirds of his sentence before he's considered for release, plus an additional four years on licence.

Recorder Amy Nicholson heard Cannon had a long list of previous convictions, including head-butting, punching, strangling and biting a former girlfriend on her face. On that occasion, in 2018, he cried out to his mum as he was jailed for 35 months.

It was said in court there had been a long history of bad feeling between Cannon and Mr Cleary, and their families.

Recorder Nicholson also heard Cannon had a previous conviction for possession of an offensive weapon, a knuckle duster.

She said: "This was a revenge attack and it was brutal and sustained but the truth is there is no justification for it.

"I have to consider the risk of harm to others as you have a history of violent behaviour.

"I do find you are somebody who is dangerous and you pose a significant risk to the public. You were fortunate the attack was not fatal."