Bulwell knife man jailed for threatening to stab man and rape his step-daughter

Thomas Hunt’s victim was watching television in his upstairs flat when he heard the buzzer, just before midnight on October 9 last year, said Annabel Lenton.

He shouted: "Come downstairs you f****** b****** - I'm going to smash your head in."

The man told him to go away, but came downstairs, and found 31-year-old Hunt shouting more abuse with five other men, all mounted on bikes.

When the man explained things, Hunt's friends took him away. But he returned shortly afterwards on his own and shouted: "I'm going to f****** stab you."

And when a young girl looked out of a window, Hunt called him "nonce" and "rapist" and shouted: "I'm going to rape the blondie."

His victim called the police. Officers saw Hunt lurking by a tree where they later discovered a knife, with the blade pushed into the mud.

Nottingham Crown Court heard he has 22 previous convictions for 44 offences and was jailed for possessing a firearm in 2015.

Hunt, of Cinderhill Walk, admitted possessing a knife and making threats at the first opportunity.

Stefan Fox, mitigating, said: "The knife was never brandished or produced. There was no determined effort to secure entry; he's not trying to rip the door off or kick it in. Fortunately, the police arrived swiftly.

"It's another prime example of the evils of drugs and drink. He is utterly appalled by the comments he made. There is plainly no intent for either of those abhorrent comments to be carried out."

Mr Fox said Hunt had been alcohol-dependent since he was 16-years-old. "He's got to the point in his life where he knows he has got to grasp the nettle and sort it out.

"Does the court give him one last opportunity to sort it out perhaps by contemplating whether a suspended sentence can be considered?" he asked.

On Wednesday, Judge Nigel Godsmark KC imposed a restraining order and sentenced Hunt to 13 months in prison.

He said the circumstances were "frankly alarming" and the threat was "despicable", and he had "no confidence a community order would work".