George McInness armed himself with a sword like this one

A drunken Thanet man armed himself with a sword... because friends had hidden his house keys in the ladies' loo.

Furious George McInness, 27, had offered the keys as security because he could not pay a debt to friend Leanne Wratten.

But they were stashed in the Kabuki Bar toilets, in Margate, and he was told they had been lost – so he started sending threatening text messages to Leanne.

He then got a taxi to her home in Lister Road at 4am and Leanne later revealed she saw him carrying a "big black samurai sword", which he tried to hide behind his back, Canterbury Crown Court was told.

It was then that Leanne's friends Foad Azimi and Rouein Daryay went to her defence – and were slashed by the weapon.

McInness, who now lives in St Paul's Cray, near Orpington, was jailed for three years after being found guilty of wounding the two men with intent and possessing an offensive weapon. He had denied the offences, but admitted a drugs charge.

The jury heard how he had been drinking in the bar in May and handed over his keys because he could not pay his debt.

Another of Leanne's friends then hid the keys in the women's toilets – and when McInness called about them, was told that they were missing.

Angry McInness screamed: "You haven't heard the last of this" and began sending threatening texts to Leanne – who had returned to her flat where her four-year-old child was sleeping.

He arrived minutes later and Mr Azimi and Mr Daryay, who lived opposite Leanne, heard the row and went to her aid - suffering deep cuts to their forearms in the vicious attack, the court was told.

McInness struck them several times with the sword until it was kicked out of his hands. He then bit Mr Azimi on his finger as the two wrestled on the ground.

Mr Azimi was later taken to hospital after telling officers he could see his muscle protruding from the wound.

Police then arrested McInness, who had been standing in the middle of the road with blood on his face, hands and trousers, shouting: "Come on then, I'll do all of you."

Two other knives were also found at the scene.

He later told officers he had been drinking between 15 to 20 pints of lager that night, together with six shots of brandy or sambuca and smoking cannabis.

It was then he handed over his house keys and recalled being angry when he was told they had been lost, the court heard.

McInness told officers he remembered holding the samurai sword but had no idea where it came from. Police later went to his home and discovered seven cannabis plants being grown in a specially-adapted room.

Judge Nigel Van Der Bijl told him: "This was a terrifying incident for all those people involved."