A Ramsgate man – wild with anger on a cocktail of cocaine and alcohol – chased two tree surgeons down the road brandishing a 12-inch hunting knife.

Martin Barnard, 33, picked on the men in Ashburnham Road for “no obvious reason” – screaming and threatening them.

In January this year, the jobless scaffolder appeared in front of Tony Mills and Scott Fleming, who where clearing away branches, brandishing a spanner.

But Canterbury Crown Court heard that he told the bewildered men chillingly: “Do you think this is all I’ve got? I’ll get something bigger to do you with”

Minutes later he returned with the hunting knife, raised it above his head and screamed: “I’m going to do the pair of you.”

Prosecutor Jim Harvey said: “Mr Mills later described the look in Barnard’s eyes as being extremely frightening. Both men then ran away and called the police.”

"i believe that had we not run off this man would have stabbed and killed either me or my friend" – tony mills

Mr Mills later told police officers: “I was extremely concerned about this male’s actions. I believe that had we not run off this man would have stabbed and killed either me or my friend.

“Clearly by the look in his eyes he had no concern about his actions and would not have stopped at anything to get to me.”

His colleague Mr Fleming said in a statement that when Barnard returned he was “wild with anger”; adding: “In my opinion the man would have killed anyone who got in his way.”

Mr Harvey said that Barnard then turned on Valentine Harnett, who was cleaning his car in his garden, and threatened him saying: “What are you looking at, you ----? Do you want to have some?”

Mr Harnett told him: “Leave it..if you stab me, you will go to prison.”

The father of two, who lives in Ashburnham Road, replied: “I am going to go to prison anyway”.

Barnard, who admitted affray and possessing an offensive weapon, was jailed for 14 months. The judge added two more months after hearing the offences were committed in breach of a suspended sentence for assault.

Oliver Kirk, defending, said the defendant couldn’t remember anything of the events after taking cocaine and alcohol.

Judge Heather Norton told him: “Your victims suffered the consequences of your actions...now you will have to suffer the consequences and go to prison.”