A man threatened victims with acid attacks and a petrol bomb, in a sustained campaign of racial harassment and abuse.

Jack Tester of Havengore Avenue, Gravesend, has been jailed for a series of offences after tormenting his two victims, and threatening to harm their family, between August and December 2021.

During a five-month period, the 29-year-old threw a brick through a window of a property and left an improvised petrol bomb on a victim's car, attaching a note to the glass bottle which threatened to "blow every one of you out".

In other incidents, Tester threw paint over a car and sent racist messages to one of the victims, with threats he would be stabbed or harmed with acid.

Tester was arrested on December 20, 2021, and an investigation led to police gathering CCTV and forensic evidence, with his fingerprint detected on adhesive tape used to attach the note to the bottle left on the car.

Appearing before Maidstone Crown Court, Tester pleaded guilty to racially aggravated harassment and two counts of criminal damage, and he was sentenced to two years and four months’ imprisonment on August 19.

He was also made the subject of a restraining order, lasting 10 years.

Inspector Allen Searl, of the Gravesham and Dartford Victim Based Crime Team, said: "Tester has subjected his victims to a prolonged period of appalling and terrifying abuse. The glass bottle he left on their car contained accelerants and a rag for lighting, and it was just one of a number of chilling threats which no doubt left those he targeted in real fear for their safety.

"Victims of hate crime need not suffer in silence and we encourage them to report all incidents to us. Offenders should also be aware that crimes motivated by hate, carry a longer prison sentence and we will do everything in our power to secure this. In this instance the racial elements of these offences led to an uplift in the sentence of six months."