A cook who repeatedly stabbed a rival with a sharpened metal bar in a "violent and sustained attack" has been jailed.

Raymond Wallace, of Margate, rained blows on delivery driver Joshi Thomas-Johnson when a gathering at flats in his hometown turned sour.

The 49-year-old went on trial at Canterbury Crown Court in November accused of attempting to murder Joshi Thomas-Johnson.

But jurors cleared the D Suga Hut chef of the charge, instead convicting him of the lesser charge of wounding with intent.

Mr Thomas-Johnson told the court in an impact statement he had suffered flashbacks, feelings of isolation, and considered leaving the country following his ordeal.

Handing down a nine-year prison sentence yesterday (Wednesday), Judge Simon James labelled the assault a “violent and sustained attack with a highly dangerous weapon.”

Wallace, who was known to Mr Thomas-Johnson, inflicted the violence after a row broke out at a late-night gathering, jurors heard last year.

Armed with a “metal rod with sharpened edges,” Wallace jammed the handle into his victim’s eye, before the violence intensified, prosecutor Martin Yale said.

The weapon was either a “sharpened metal bar or a sword,” Mr Yale said.

Wallace then dragged Mr Thomas-Johnson onto steps outside the flat in Dalby Square before “blocking his escape,” Mr Yale continued.

“Mr Wallace then stabbed him in the neck with the bar.

“Mr Thomas-Johnson was bleeding heavily. He managed to get past Mr Wallace and out onto the pavement,” Mr Yale continued.

Wallace then stabbed him in the buttocks and “walked away down the street” following the attack in the early hours of February 11 last year, the prosecutor added.

Mr Thomas-Johnson was rushed to London’s Kings College Hospital as medics worked to stem his loss of blood, the trial heard.

Under anaesthetic, specialist doctors treated Mr Thomas-Johnson for stab wounds to his neck, face and buttock, alongside a defensive injury to his hand.

Wallace was soon arrested and, subsequently, Mr Thomas-Johnson’s blood was found on his watch strap.

During the trial, Wallace argued he fired Mr Thomas-Johnson as a delivery driver months prior to the night in question but there was no animosity between the two.

Asked if he stabbed Mr Thomas-Johnson, Wallace, of Cliff Terrace, replied: “No.”

But at the sentencing hearing, Judge James said he was convinced Wallace had his victim "deliberately lured" to the address following a minor dispute.

"Wallace's actions have shown him to be an extremely dangerous man..."

Wallace, who has previously served lengthy prison spells for robbery and aggravated burglary, will serve two-thirds of his sentence before his release.

He will then be made subject to a restraining order until further notice.

Time already spent on remand will be deducted from his overall sentence.

After the sentencing, investigating officer Detective Constable Samantha Lewis said: "This was a shocking attack and we could very easily have been dealing with an even more serious crime.

"Wallace's actions have shown him to be an extremely dangerous man and I'm pleased he was identified and arrested soon after the offence, and that our investigation has now seen him convicted and removed from the streets of Margate."