A violent bully who left his girlfriend soaked in blood in a revenge attack callously told police she "deserves much worse".

Father-of-five Paul Raworth, who had a staggering 138 crimes to his name at the time of the assault in November last year, subjected the woman to what a judge described as a "gratuitous and extreme" ordeal.

Canterbury Crown Court heard she was stabbed with a knife, beaten with a wooden pole, punched, kicked and dragged by her hair.

Raworth had previously been jailed for trying to strangle the same victim with an electric cable - only stopping when she told him she loved him - and was under post-release supervision.

The 55-year-old tunnel worker ignored her desperate pleas to stop his onslaught while blaming her for his spell behind bars but a neighbour overheard cries for help and alerted police.

When they arrived however, knife-wielding Raworth barricaded the flat and threatened to stab officers if they forced entry.

Once finally under arrest, he resorted to repeatedly insulting officers with homophobic slurs, and compounded his girlfriend's humiliation by saying "What happened to her was out of order but she deserves much worse".

He continued with "She had it coming" and "Oh well, at least that's her sorted now", the court was told.

Brazenly, he even rang her once he had been remanded in custody to say: "See you in court.”

Raworth, of Freemans Way, Deal, was originally charged with attempted murder but his subsequent guilty plea to the alternative offence of wounding with intent was accepted by the prosecution. He also admitted charges of affray and threatening behaviour.

Now he faces serving up to eight years in prison after a judge imposed an extended sentence for public protection - a punishment greeted by the grandfather from the dock with the words "Merry Christmas".

Prosecutor Martin Yale said the couple had a "toxic" relationship in which she regarded him as "a bully".

On the day of the attack Raworth, described by his barrister as a "functioning alcoholic and functioning drug addict", arrived at her home intoxicated and armed with two knives.

Having accused her of wanting to be with a male friend of his, he then started punching her in the face.

"She held up her arms to protect herself but he began kicking her to her stomach and ribs," Mr Yale told the court.

"He then dragged her by her hair from the bedroom to the bathroom and while she was on the floor he got some sort of bar or pole of furniture leg and began hitting her in the ribs and over the head before punching her in the ribs and kicking her in the head.

"She was begging and pleading for him to stop but he continued and kept saying he was 'going to do' her and bury her in a grave. She felt she was becoming unconscious and he began blaming her for him having recently been to prison.

"She continued to scream for help, hoping her neighbours would hear. Her hope was fulfilled and her neighbour, having heard what was going on, called police."

When officers arrived at about 1.15am, they could hear the woman crying "Help me, help me!" and Raworth shouting at her to clean the blood from her face.

Her hair was also soaked in blood and she later realised she had been stabbed to her right thigh.

Having identified themselves as police, they were told to "F*** off", said Mr Yale, as Raworth began to barricade the door and threaten to stab them.

The woman could also still be heard crying, screaming and in a state of distress as he shouted "Do your f***ing hair" at her.

More officers arrived and entry was forced into the flat, by now filled with smoke from food burning in the oven. Raworth, still clutching a long knife, was eventually restrained after a brief scuffle while his girlfriend cowered in the bathroom.

"She was covered in blood, in pain and distress, and hunched over crying," continued the prosecutor. "She had a stab wound which was bleeding and seeping through her trouser leg. She repeatedly cried out 'He's going to kill me'.

"The bath was covered in blood and there was blood all over the toilet. She had two badly bruised eyes, her hair was soaked and covered in blood. She appeared drowsy and slipping in and out of consciousness.

"Officers had to shake her to wake her and each time they did that she would wail in pain. Police found a wooden pole in the bedroom and she said he had smashed her around the head. She thought she was going to die."

Raworth continued to be aggressive once in the police van, headbutting and kicking the vehicle and subjecting officers to homophobic abuse.

Comments about his victim - as well as acceptance of his pending legal fate - were made once at the police station.

He remarked: "I'm going to court for this one. Fair enough. What happened to her was out of order but she deserves much worse". He then added: "That will get rid of her".

Raworth even claimed his partner had "pushed me too far" but acknowledged his wrongdoing, saying "I don't think I'll get away with a not guilty plea on this one."

However, he later contacted his victim from prison, telling her she was mistaken about the knives before adding: "See you in court".

In a victim impact statement, she described herself as being "a nervous wreck" and how the knife injury had caused a loss of sensation in her leg.

"She fears further attack and describes driving herself up the wall thinking about the incident over and over again," Mr Yale told the court.

"She talks of not feeling safe from him even though he is in prison and is fearful of what will happen when he comes out. She is fearful that next time he will kill her.

"She tries to put on a brave face in public...but in private she cries uncontrollably. She says she is now a nervous wreck who has to build up the courage just to go the local shop and doesn't know if those feelings will ever subside."

Raworth's 65 previous convictions, which date back 40 years, include battery, common assault, threatening behaviour, and assault causing actual bodily harm.

In April 2021 he had been jailed for 16 months for attacking the same victim, first by hitting her with a stick and then punching her repeatedly before attempting to strangle her with cable.

Imposing a 12-year-extended sentence consisting of eight years' jail and an additional four years to any licence period, Judge Simon James said he had shown no genuine remorse or insight.

"Your victim ended up soaked in her own blood with wounds to her head, face and a serious wound to her leg. It was a prolonged and sustained attack with a degree of premeditation and use of a highly dangerous weapon," he told an impassive Raworth.

"Part of your motivation was to seek revenge for the fact your victim's previous allegations led to you serving a prison sentence. Mercifully, the resulting physical injuries were not as serious as they might have been had police not arrived.

"But they were still grave, leaving her with serious and ongoing psychological symptoms, a loss of sensation in her leg and an uncertainty as to whether that will ever return.

"There is a plethora of aggravating features....and not significant mitigation whatsoever save for the fact you continue to struggle with addiction issues.

"An extended sentence is the only sentence that adequately reflects the risk you pose of causing serious harm to others."

Raworth cannot apply for parole until he has served at least two-thirds of the jail term, and may have to serve it in full if he is considered to still be a risk to the public

Ben Irwin, defending, said his client's life had been "blighted" by drugs and alcohol for 30 years but he was now "proud" that he had completed detox while in custody and "enjoys waking up in the morning".