A thug who launched a vicious attack on a vulnerable man at assisted housing has been jailed for three years.

Barry White repeatedly punched and kicked Michael Quick at the Langley House Trust accommodation for ex-offenders in Mount Road, Chatham.

When the victim tried to stop him taking some of his possession, he laid into him again with more punches and kicks.

After 50-year-old White, of Britton Street, Gillingham, was sentenced for assault causing actual bodily harm and theft, he angrily protested: “This is a fit-up. I am not having it. He stole from my child.”

Maidstone Crown Court heard Mr Quick was staying in a room previously occupied by White.

The victim was watching TV on Sunday, March 3, this year when White appeared and asked if “Tony” was in and adding he had come for his mail as he used to live there.

“Within a matter of seconds, Mr White charged through the door and started to assault him,” said prosecutor David Parvin.

Mr Quick later told police how White struck him “full force” with both fists to his head and all over his body.

“I was in shock,” he said. “I fell to the floor. I tried covering my head with my arms to protect myself. I thought at this point he was going to kill me. He just wasn’t stopping.”

Mr Parvin said White broke down Mr Quick’s bedroom door and made an untidy search, before taking a mobile phone, electric razor and bank card.

The victim was getting to his feet as White came down the stairs. He challenged White about taking his shaver and was attacked again.

“He continued beating me for what felt like forever, but might have been only a couple of minutes,” he said.

White went into the living room, ripped the TV from the wall and took it with the remote control.

He was arrested soon afterwards. His car was searched and the stolen property was recovered.

Mr Quick said in a victim statement that the attack had a lasting effect on him. He was constantly on edge and looking over his shoulder, he added.

The court heard White had 29 previous court appearances for 46 offences, including burglary and wounding.

He was jailed for six years in the 1990s for burglary and perverting the course of justice.

"You assaulted Michael Quick in a brutal and unpleasant fashion. You calmed down and called him a nonce" - Judge Adele Williams

Judge Adele Williams told him: “You assaulted Michael Quick in a brutal and unpleasant fashion. You calmed down and called him a nonce.

“He sustained bruising and swelling to his left cheekbone and around the eye. This incident has had a deeply traumatic and ongoing effect on him.

“You have a bad record for dishonesty and violence. This is a very worrying record for violence and it is high time you resolved to put your life in order during the inevitable sentence I am about to pass.”

White was sentenced to 32 months for the assault and four months consecutive for theft.

A restraining order banning any contact with Mr Quick and from going to Mount Road was made for 10 years.