A "dangerous idiot" has been found guilty of knifing a nightclub owner in the stomach.

Anthony Ridge, 44, was told to expect "a very long sentence" for stabbing Karl Ahmad outside Vivid in High Street, Herne Bay.

Ridge told Canterbury Crown Court bouncers turfed him out before Mr Ahmad threatened him with the blade.

Ridge claimed his victim’s injuries were caused in self-defence when he disarmed him. But a jury unanimously saw through his lies and convicted him of wounding with intent.

Judge James O’Mahoney told the convict he was "a dangerous idiot with a violent temper".

“I saw you in the witness box barely able to suppress that temper,” he added.

“By the time you had a few pints of strong lager you probably didn’t know or care that you had a knife.”

The assailant bowed his head as the jury returned its verdict today, following just two-and-a-half hours of deliberations.

The five-day trial heard tensions flared between Ridge and staff just before 3am.

Richard Milne, Ridge’s barrister, argued his client was set upon by bouncers and that Mr Ahmad punched his sister Rebecca Shepherd, 34, unconscious outside Vivid.

He claimed the victim drew the blade and became injured when Ridge disarmed him.

The defendant went on to explain how he "couldn't assist" the court with how Mr Ahmad became wounded.

There was "no rational explanation" for throwing the blade - covered in only his DNA - into his mum’s neighbour’s garden in Charles Street shortly after the attack, Ridge added.

But Mr Ahmad branded claims he pulled the weapon "ridiculous".

Prosecutor Andrew Hallworth claimed Ridge - who has a history of violent convictions - was baying for a fight and “snapped” outside the venue.

CCTV footage played in court showed Ridge jumping up and down and surrounded by staff.

He lunged with the weapon towards one bouncer, who then fell over avoiding the blow.

"I saw you in the witness box barely able to suppress that temper'"- Judge James O'Mahoney

Ridge could also be seen making a fast stabbing motion towards Mr Ahmad.

The nightclub boss told a jury earlier in the trial he realised the seriousness of his injury only when onlookers said: “You’ve got blood all over you.”

Off-duty police officers treated Mr Ahmad at the club before medics rushed him to a hospital, where he stayed for six days after major surgery.

The drama unfolded on July 9, 2017. Ridge was arrested about five months later, and gave a no comment interview.

Ridge, who lived in Charles Street at the time of the attack but more recently in Ashford, will be sentenced at the same court the week commencing January 20.

Judge O’Mahoney ordered probation reports into Ridge's "dangerousness".

Ridge waved and said "I love you" to his mum, who had been sat in the public gallery throughout the trial.

The court was told he had previously been jailed for 10 years for robbery.

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