AN attacker stabbed and slashed at a man leaving him covered in blood in a Hampshire town.

Southampton Crown Court heard that Oliver Thomas Whistance punched his victim to the left cheek then reached into his jacket and took out a knife.

The man thought he was going to die of the serious injuries he suffered during the attack outside a home in Hedge End.

Prosecution barrister Russell Pyne, said: “The victim realised he had been stabbed.

“His left thumb and finger had been cut then he saw he had a cut to the right chest area. 

“He recalls a police car arriving quickly and then paramedics, and being taken to hospital.

“The most serious cut was to his left upper back. It measured 15cm long and 4cm deep.

The wound was so deep the man’s ribs were left exposed, Southampton Crown Court heard.

Mr Pyne told how the victim had been spending the evening with a woman at her home in Hedge End. 

He said: “All seemed to be well. They watched a film and ordered a takeaway.”

However, at about 8pm the woman started receiving telephone calls and text messages from Whistance, 20, who she had previously been in a relationship with.

The victim and the woman both then left the house but as they walked out the back door the defendant arrived.

Whistance, of Chalk Hill, West End, shouted: “Who are you? Why are you here?”

He then started slashing and swiping at the man.

The victim felt a cut to his left shoulder blade. He ran towards the open garden gate and got in his car with Whistance chasing after him.

In a victim impact statement read out in court, the man said if he had not been quick enough to escape he would have been murdered and that he thought he was going to die.

Furthermore, that following the attack, sleeping was often painful and his injuries meant he was extremely limited in what he could do, including menial tasks.

Whistance pleaded guilty to wounding with intent after the incident, which happened on October 14, 2019.

He has one previous conviction for driving with excess alcohol from November 2018 for which he was disqualified and fined.

Defending, Graham Gilbert, said: his client accepts that his offending behaviour was "totally unacceptable" and therefore he must be punished.

He added that Whistance wished to apologise for his actions and urged the judge to keep the sentence as short as possible.

Recorder Benjamin Newton jailed him for seven years and six months.