A thug with a history of violence who launched an unprovoked street attack on another man has been jailed for seven-and-a-half years.

Richard Jones was handed an extended sentence on his 43rd birthday for public protection after a judge decided he was a continuing danger.

He had previously been locked up for seven years after leaving his victim with brain damage.

The latest offence was in Paddock Wood High Street when he confronted victim Mark Turnbull as he left Tesco’s at about 9pm on January 16 this year.

Jones shouted at him and then began punching him. Mr Turnbull did not retaliate and tried to walk away, but Jones followed, knocked him to the ground, kicked and stamped on him and gouged at his face.

Most of the attack was captured on CCTV cameras and footage from it was shown to a judge at Maidstone Crown Court.

“It’s ------- pathetic. All this over a fiver. Watch - he will be a dead man when I see him next” - Jones' chilling boast after the attack

“It shows the assault was sustained,” said prosecutor Daniel Stephenson. “It lasted for about three minutes. At no stage did Mr Turnbull retaliate or do anything to cause or provoke this sustained assault.

“Witnesses described him kicking him on several occasions. Mr Turnbull described Mr Jones strangling him while holding him in a headlock and squeezing hard.”

Jones, of Colts Hill Place, Five Oak Green, afterwards went over to a woman who had watched in horror and told her: “It’s ------- pathetic. All this over a fiver. Watch - he will be a dead man when I see him next.”

Mr Stephenson said Jones’ claim that the victim owed him money and had bullied him previously was not accepted.

Mr Turnbull suffered a fractured eye socket and extensive bruising. He has been left with double vision and has to wear special glasses.

Under the sentence, Jones, who admitted causing grievous bodily harm with intent, will have to serve two thirds of the term before he is considered for parole. He will be on licence for a further four years.

He was convicted of a similar offence in 2004 after battering his victim around the head with a baseball bat, causing brain damage, in a minor road rage incident in Five Oak Green.

Judge Julian Smith told him: “You have to be sentenced for what I consider to be an appalling offence - a piece of unprovoked, persistent, deliberate street violence on a man who has done nothing to provoke this assault.

“On the information I have before me, he is a kind man who would not engage in aggressive, violent or bullying conduct. You have convictions for violence. They are unsettling.”

The previous seven-year sentence did not teach him the error of his ways, said the judge.

“The victim suffered an agonising injury,” he continued.

“You used a shod foot repeatedly to attack him. It was kicking and stamping on a man who wanted no more than to go home.

“It seems to me he was chosen at random. His calm and pleasant manner was simply exploited by you.

“The nature of this offence, in combination with your previous convictions, leads me to conclude you present a significant risk of harm. In simple terms, I judge you are dangerous.”