A MAN who slashed a woman with a knife after bursting into her home during an alcohol and drug-fuelled attack has been jailed.

Kai Brooksbank was told to “keep his nose clean” after he was sentenced to 20 months in prison for attacking the woman last December.

Teesside Crown Court heard Brooksbank, who was 19 at the time of the offence, burst into the woman’s home in Durham and headbutted the woman before pulling out a knife and slashing her arm as she attempted to push him out of the property.

The woman, who sustained a deep cut along her arm, said she lives in fear following the attack and refuses to answer the front door in case “someone wants to hurts her”.

Quoting the victim, Shaun Dodds, prosecuting, said: “Every time I hear a noise outside I get scared and nervous. I no longer have people around the house and no longer answer my front door in case someone wants to hurt me. I cannot sleep and regularly have nightmares.

“This cut is going to leave a huge scar on my arm.

“People might think I did it to myself or ask about it which makes me anxious.

“I live alone and suffer with anxiety and it has taken me a long time to come out of my shell. I was a sociable person, but this incident had changed how I am around people. I am no longer a confident person. The attack has made me want to move house, I will have to move out of the area from no fault of my own.”

Mr Dodds added the woman may have to undergo further surgery and she fears she may have to leave her waitressing job due to her arm injury.

The court heard Brooksbank, now 20, has a previous conviction for possessing a blade and was under the influence of alcohol and drugs at the time of the attack on December 15, 2018.

But Jane Waugh, defending, said he is “determined to change his life” and may have been impacted by low blood sugar levels as he was not correctly monitoring his diabetes.

She said: “He may have been impacted by an imbalance of insulin at the time. He wasn’t wearing a pump and wasn’t aware of the effects an imbalance of blood sugar can have. It has since been regulated in prison.

“He is clearly immature for his age. He has previous convictions that seems to have accumulated to this offence but it has made him realise he cannot continue like he has in the past.

“He knows what he did that night was wrong and he shouldn’t have gone in the house and confronted her in the manner he did. He is sorry and is determined to change his life. He had been thriving in custody and he is physically and mentally in a better place then at the time. He has two children and is keen to re-establish contact with them and lead a law-abiding life.”

But Judge Deborah Sherwin said the attack was “a serious matter” and sentenced Brooksbank to 20 months in prison.

She said: “You are now 20-years-old and you were found guilty by a jury of unlawful wounding. To go out in this manner with a weapon, there was a knife there, and to burst into someone’s house, there was no surprise the victim tried to push you out.

“She said you headbutted her and your pulled out the knife and she got a nasty cut. You weren’t taking your insulin at the time and I accept you had a lot going on at that stage. You were off the rails on alcohol and drugs and you went round to her house and burst in with a weapon. She’s left worried about repercussions.

“There were problems with your health which you were not being treated but you have clearly have done your best to better yourself. You were 19 at the time of the offence and it seems you were young for your age but this is a serious matter meaning an immediate custodial sentence.

“It is important you keep your nose clean and turn your life around.”

During a trial last month jurors acquitted the 20-year-old of wounding with intent, but he was found guilty of unlawful wounding.

Brooksbank, of Fifth Street, Blackhall Colliery, denied the charge.