A thug who once left a neighbour blind in one eye after attacking him with a martial arts weapon has been jailed for threatening to kill an ex-girlfriend and burn down her home.

Sebastian Sumner was jailed for four years in 2008 for the vicious attack with rice flails.

His victim, who suffered from cancer, was on the phone to police when he was struck in the face.

Now, the judge who sentenced him for that attack has jailed him again after hearing how he terrorised two former partners.

The 39-year-old stalked and threatened one woman, telling her he would cut her face and that her son was "a dead boy".

He also threatened to kill another, her children and her toddler granddaughter, and told her he would burn her house down.

She later told police she was "praying for the nightmare to end".

"You became threatening, telling her you would cut her face if she didn't return to you... You repeated your threat to her son when you said he was 'a dead boy'" - Judge Griffith-Jones QC

Describing Sumner as "something of a Jekyll and Hyde", Judge David Griffith-Jones QC said an extended prison sentence was necessary to protect the public.

He jailed Sumner for three years and nine months, of which he must serve at least two-thirds before becoming eligible for parole.

If released before the end of the full term he will serve the remainder on licence, with a further licence period thereafter of five years.

The judge also made indefinite restraining orders in relation to the two women and their respective families.

Maidstone Crown Court heard that his previous convictions also include an attack on his sister, again using a martial arts weapon, for which he was jailed for three years in 2012.

He was also subject to a 12-month conditional discharge for a public order offence when he committed the offences against his former partners.

Sumner, of Bankside, Chatham, admitted putting one woman in fear of violence between November 1 and 8 last year.

He also pleaded guilty to making threats to kill the other, assaulting her to cause actual bodily harm and threatening to destroy property, all on November 4.

Judge David Griffith-Jones QC read a letter from Sumner but said he doubted how genuine his remorse was.

"It is very clear both from the pre-sentence report and the terms of that letter itself that you continue to minimise the extent and significance of your behaviour, and indeed seek to cast some blame on your victims."

The court heard Sumner and one woman had been in a relationship for about two months but three weeks after it ended, Sumner began to phone, text, stalk and turn up uninvited at her home in Gillingham.

He was abusive and aggressive, threatening both her and her son.

Judge Griffith-Jones said the victim felt she had little option to meet up with him on November 7, only to be taken on a "most terrifying" car journey.

"You became threatening, telling her you would cut her face if she didn't return to you.

"You refused to get out of her car. You demanded she drive you and you grabbed her phone when it rang and you repeated your threat to her son when you said he was 'a dead boy'."

When Sumner did eventually get out of the car, he hurled more threats.

Sumner's long-term relationship with the other woman, which was said to be punctuated with domestic violence, ended when he was jailed in 2008.

"She was praying for the nightmare to end and felt like a prisoner in her own home, terrified to do or say something wrong in case it set you off either verbally or physically" - Judge Griffith-Jones QC

However, he contacted her last year and persuaded her to let him stay at her home, also in Gillingham.

Violence flared when Sumner had been drinking heavily and tried to cause a row about their past.

Described as enraged, Sumner twice slapped her to her face, causing a black eye and bruising to her nose.

He then made the threats against the woman and her family.

"You threatened to kill her, her children and three-year-old granddaughter. You showed her two knives, indicating which one you intended to use on her son," said the judge.

"Later that day you showed her a tin of lighter fuel and told her you intended to burn her house down.

"She believed your threats; not surprisingly she was petrified of you. Plainly you were something on that day of a Jekyll and Hyde because you calmed down to some extent and left the house."

Judge Griffith-Jones said Sumner's ability to control Ms Busher was demonstrated by him persuading her on his return to allow him to continue to stay.

"As she says in her statement, she was praying for the nightmare to end and felt like a prisoner in her own home, terrified to do or say something wrong in case it set you off either verbally or physically."

John Whitehead, defending, said Sumner had made serious attempts to "get to grips" with his alcohol and addiction problems while on remand and that exemplary reports from prison staff showed there was hope.

His victim in the rice flails attack in 2008 was 51-year-old Steven Tanton.

The two men lived in separate flats in a two-storey house in Gillingham Road, Gillingham.

Judge Griffith-Jones was told the pair clashed over 11 months, during which both would call the police.

In May that year, Sumner stormed over to Mr Tanton's flat as he was on the phone to police reporting their latest row.

Sumner ran up to him and struck him on the left side of his face and around his eye, causing a deep cut to his face and scalp as well as bruising.

Sumner's barrister on that occasion said the carpenter had a history of "anxiety and conflict" and just snapped.

However, Judge Griffith-Jones said there was no excuse for inflicting such a serious injury in a premeditated attack with a frightening weapon.

"The effect on your victim is bound to be devastating,” he said.