A drunk bully slashed his neighbour with a "frightening" power saw and threatened to kill him after tormenting him for being deaf.

Wayne Elliot hoisted the terrifying tool above his head and charged towards Stephen Anderson “while appearing to be enjoying himself” outside their homes in Hardres Street, Ramsgate.

When Mr Anderson fell to the floor Elliot, 51, straddled him, held the blade to his face, and caused a a number of cuts to his hand.

Following his arrest, the former construction worker denied attacking and threatening to kill Mr Anderson.

But a jury found Elliot guilty of both charges following a trial at Canterbury Crown Court last year.

Jailing Elliot for 18 months on Tuesday, a judge ruled the assault flowed from a wider bullying campaign, due to his victim’s impaired hearing.

The harrowing ordeal has even left Mr Anderson feeling so isolated he wishes to move from Kent.

The court was told he and a friend were loading his car when Elliot began “bullying, shouting, slurring his words,” prosecutor Alexa Le Moine said.

He then made a threat to kill, which was inaudible to Mr Anderson but heard by a witness.

A subsequent scuffle ensued, in which Elliot’s partner, Maria Tantony, fell to the floor, prompting Elliot to rush inside his home.

Moments later, he emerged from the property with an electric power saw.

Holding the weapon above his head, he charged towards Mr Anderson, “swinging and slashing” while “repeating threats to kill”, the prosecution said.

The terrifying sight caused Mr Anderson to fall on his back, prompting Elliot to get on top of him, then hold the blade close to his face.

During the struggle, Mr Anderson suffered cuts to numerous fingers, bruising, and was treated at a nearby hospital with steri-strips and surgical glue.

He says he now feels unsafe leaving his home, and socially isolated following the harrowing abuse in April 2019.

Battling insomnia and anxiety, he told in a victim impact statement how he “feels so alone and isolated he is considering moving out of Kent entirely".

He also described Elliot’s behaviour towards him as “often unpleasant and bullying,” the prosecution said.

Following his arrest, Elliot denied making threats to kill and occasioning actual bodily harm to Mr Anderson.

But a jury unanimously found him guilty of both counts following a trial in November last year.

After being bailed pending a pre-sentence report, Elliot drunkenly and verbally abused his probation worker.

Judge Catherine Brown highlighted that the outburst showed Elliot was unwilling to change his ways.

He was handed two chances to co-operate with the agency but refused to do so, the court heard.

“You and your girlfriend were alcoholics, and you enjoyed deliberately causing a nuisance with [Mr Anderson] and his visitors,” Judge Brown said.

“You plainly thought he was an easy target because of his disability,” she explained, and labelled the saw a “frightening implement”.

Elliot was also handed a five-year restraining order.

Representing Elliot, Natasha Spreadborough said he began abusing alcohol after suffering medical complications, leading to the loss of his construction job.