Stevie French “suddenly and inexplicably” turned on a friend and stabbed him in the head, a court was told. French, 49, was drinking in a Littleport pub with the victim in August last year before the pair headed back to French’s house.
The victim was in the kitchen, when suddenly French burst into the room brandishing a knife demanding he hand over money.
The victim held his hands up to shield himself from the knife, while trying to pull out cash from his wallet.
French then thrust the knife towards the victim, causing a deep wound to his head and lacerations to his hands.
The victim managed to throw his now blood-soaked cash towards French and headed for the door, but he realised it had been barricaded with a plank of wood.
He managed to escape and fled the scene to his ex-partner’s house where an ambulance was called.
Doorbell footage captured the moment the victim arrived at French’s home and then left covered in blood.
Police were called and arrested French, who later pleaded guilty to GBH without intent.
French, of Crown Road, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, was sentenced to two years and four months in prison at Huntingdon Law Courts on Friday (6 September).
He was also handed a five-year restraining order preventing him from contacting the victim or any witnesses in this case and preventing him from entering Littleport.
Detective Constable Billie Baker, who investigated, said: “I would firstly like to commend the victim for his courage and bravery in supporting this investigation.
“He has shown remarkable strength in the face of extreme physical and emotional trauma.
“I would also like to commend the victim’s ex-partner for her lifesaving actions when he arrived at her home in a critical condition. It is a credit to the victim and witnesses who came forward in this case that we have reached this successful outcome.
“It is clear French is a violent man with the potential to turn from friend to foe in the blink of an eye without any regard for who he hurts or the consequences of his actions.
“He turned on the victim suddenly and inexplicably with a terrifying level of violence.
“I’m glad justice has been done today and French will be spending time behind bars, and I hope this, along with the restraining order, will go some way to helping the victim recover and start to feel safe again.”
