A thug armed with a metal bar who launched a vicious attack on a father in front of his two children is behind bars.

Darren Luck, 35, approached his victim from behind and hit him over the head as he walked through an alleyway in Weller Avenue, Rochester, with his children and their mother.

When police arrived, they found the victim bleeding from a deep cut on his head that needed hospital treatment.

Luck had left the scene but was arrested at his home the following day, Friday, November 27 2014.

Luck, of Jefferson Road, Sheerness, was sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court to two years and two months in prison after pleading guilty to causing grievous bodily harm.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Rebekah Kerr said: "Whatever differences Darren Luck had with his victim, there is no excuse for carrying out such a vicious attack in front of the man’s two young children.

"Luck is very fortunate that more serious injuries were not inflicted that day, otherwise he may have been facing an even longer prison sentence than the one passed down by the judge.

"He is clearly a dangerous individual who cannot control his temper, and members of the public are safer with him behind bars."