A MAN who lunged at a former family friend with an eight-inch kitchen knife was jailed at Oxford Crown Court.

David James, of Bodley Place, Sunnymead, Oxford, admitted one count of unlawful wounding against Patrick Keenan on August 21.

Prosecuting, Giles Curtis-Raleigh, said the 33-year-old turned up at his victim’s Oxford home at around 9pm and started threatening him with the knife.

The barrister said James then lunged towards Mr Keenan and a struggle took place, in which James kicked his victim in the face and inflicted cuts to his hands.

Mr Curtis-Raleigh said: “This was a sustained assault on the same victim that continued for some period of time with various attempts to use the knife on Mr Keenan.”

Peter Du Feu, defending, said his client’s actions had been motivated by a belief his victim was trying to turn his father against him. He said: “Mr James seeks to make very little excuse for what he did.

“He can only say that he wasn’t himself and in his right mind at the time.

“His partner had recently lost a baby through a miscarriage, which affected him very seriously.”

Judge Patrick Eccles told the defendant: “You are a man with an intimidating presence when you put your mind to it.

“Fortunately, the wounds you inflicted on your victim turned out to be relatively minor, though they could have been much worse.”

He sentenced him to 28 months in prison and told him to pay a £120 victims’ surcharge.