A VIOLENT thug has been jailed after throwing a kitchen knife at his wife in a fit of drug and alcohol-induced anger before racially abusing a police officer.

Phillip Wells, 40, was restrained by two of his sons until police arrived after threatening his wife.

Peter Clark, prosecuting at Chelmsford Crown Court, said following an argument at the family home, Wells became abusive.

“He went to the kitchen and returned with a large kitchen knife, and threatened his wife with it,” he said.

“He said ‘I’m going to stab you in the chest’, and then threw that knife towards his wife."

The court heard that while being taken to a waiting police van, Wells lunged at an officer and grabbed him.

He later hurled racist abuse at an officer while en route to the police station.

Wells admitted charges of making threats to kill, assaulting an emergency worker, battery and using racially aggravated words and behaviour.

Daniel O’Malley, mitigating, said his client knew the incident was “appalling.”

“He was immediately showing remorse upon arrest and that’s clear from his prepared statement,” he said.

Mr O’Malley said his client had been in prison for four months since his arrest, which had impacted upon his family, and he wanted to receive treatment for his drug problem.

“The family require him back at home,” he said.

Judge Christopher Morgan said: “Another victim of domestic violence who has to juggle the conflicting emotions when an incident of this nature occurs.

“The harm that it causes to her as a victim, the fear and terror she must have felt when you produced a knife, threatened her and then threw it at her.

“As far as she is concerned that it is not the first time that she has been threatened with a knife and assaulted.”

He added: “When you are taken out of the household to protect her and the children, there are financial consequences.

“That drives her, in my judgement, to have to write to the court asking for leniency as far as the court is concerned.”

Wells, of Valentinus Crescent, Colchester, was jailed for two years and three months.

Before being sent down, Wells said: “I had no intention of harming my wife. Whatever the sentence, I will be going to rehab and doing what I can to get back on the right track.

“Prison doesn’t do anything for anyone, all it does it is stick you in a room with a load of drug addicts, that’s the truth.”