A THUG who kidnapped a mother and son and held them hostage at knifepoint for six hours has been jailed for eight years.

During the ordeal, Svajunas Brokevicius threatened to kill or mutilate his victims by cutting off their fingers.

The 32-year-old Lithuanian national had earlier stabbed a man in a dispute over money, Maidstone Crown Court heard.

Jonathan Higgs, prosecuting, said the stabbing victim, Zoras Murkstys, was a sub-contractor in the Medway area, working for the husband of the woman kidnapped with their son, aged 14.

Mr Murkstys, known as George, sub-contracted to Brokevicius. There was a dispute between them, with Brokevicius claiming he had not been paid enough.

Mr Higgs said Mr Murkstys was, on July 24 last year, due to drive Brokevicius's girlfriend to hospital. But when the two men met up in Gillingham a fight started.

It ended with Brokevicius pulling out a knife and stabbing Mr Murkstys, cutting both arms and his chest.

Later that day, Brokevicius went to the home of the kidnap victims, who cannot be named for legal reasons. He argued with the mother shortly before her son's personal tutor left.

Mr Higgs said Brokevicius then made it clear to the mother and son that they were being held hostage by him because he believed his girlfriend had been kidnapped.

Also complaining that he was owed money, he made contact with the mother's husband and made demands, as well as threatening the lives of his hostages.

Brokevicius had ordered the mother and son to bind each other's wrists and ankles with tape. He brandished a knife and stabbed a tissue box and desk with it. He also demanded alcohol.

Brokevicius took the mother and son to his car. The mother was ordered to drive and her son sat in the front passenger seat.

During the journey through the Dartford Tunnel into Essex, Brokevicius made phone calls to the mother's husband.

"Repeated threats were made," said the prosecutor, "...that he would cut their throats and cut their fingers off one by one, that he would kill them."

The husband later told how Brokevicius shouted: "B------, I have got your family and I am going to cut their throats. Do you want to hear me cut their fingers off?"

He warned that if the police were contacted, he would kill his hostages. He gave the husband 30 minutes to get to the Dartford Crossing.

The husband set off and was driving along the M2 when he saw a police car. He flagged it down and told the officers what had happened.

Mr Higgs said Brokevicius, meanwhile, cut the rear of the front car seats and held the knife to the back of the boy's neck, causing cuts.

They drove to a supermarket where the mother was ordered to draw about £200 from a cash dispenser and pay for petrol.

"They were left there while he made his getaway," said Mr Higgs. "They were hugely relieved. They had been subjected to kidnapping for almost six hours."

Brokevicius fled to Yorkshire where he was eventually arrested. A knife was by his feet.

Judge Philip Statman recommended that Brokevicius, who has served prison sentences in Lithuania for dishonesty and drug offences, should be deported at the end of his sentence.