A thug who left another man with life threatening injuries when he stabbed him in the chest with scissors has been jailed for six years.

Father-of-three Daniel Baker was told by a judge: “What this wound could have done is killed this man. He was soaked in blood. It seems to me to be a grave injury.”

Maidstone Crown Court heard Baker, 22, and victim Daniel Fearne knew each other well having been at school together, but there was hostility between them.

“It was clear there was two sides to the story,” said prosecutor John Fitzgerald. “There was some bad blood between them previously.”

On March 19 last year Mr Fearne went to a pub with family and friends. As he was walking home alone he saw Baker outside his home in Cygnet Gardens, Gravesend, and they began shouting at each other.

Members of Baker’s family, including his brother Connor, 19, and his parents came out of the house.

“He didn’t just stand there and take it, he returned fire,” Mr Fitzgerald said of Mr Fearne.

"What this wound could have done is killed this man. He was soaked in blood. It seems to me to be a grave injury" - Judge Julian Smith

Daniel Baker went inside the house and returned with a pair of scissors. The victim fled but Baker and his brother chased him up the road.

Mr Fearne headed for the safety of a shop but did not make it. He turned to face the brothers and was then stabbed.

They ran off and the victim staggered to his home nearby. His frantic wife saw his T-shirt was soaked in blood.

He said he thought he had been stabbed in the heart and told his wife to hurriedly call an ambulance, adding: “I feel like I am dying.”

Mr Fitzgerald said a police officer arrived to find Mr Fearne was pale and not responding. There was blood all over the house.

He was taken to London’s Kings College Hospital and treated in the trauma unit.

He had a single wound to the chest and a bruised lung. A chest drain was inserted and 725 millilitres of fluid was drawn off. He was kept in hospital for over a week.

Daniel Baker, who has ADHD, admitted wounding with intent and having an offensive weapon.

Connor Baker admitted affray and was sentenced to a 12-month community order with 120 hours unpaid work.

Judge Julian Smith said the scissors must have been “of a size and scale” to cause Mr Fearne to run off.

“There was a penetrating wound to the chest,” he said. “It was clearly deliberate. It caused a very significant injury indeed.

“The medical treatment he received was crucial. The impact was immediate and dramatic. It was life threatening.

“There was blood on clothing, soaking into the floor and on the walls and door and steps outside. He lost significant amounts of blood.”

The judge told Connor Baker his offending was in a different category, but added it was “excessive, threatening and violent”.

He was ordered to pay £500 prosecution costs.