A Chatham man who slashed a man across the face with a knife during an unprovoked assault has been jailed for six years.

Njabulo Leroy Sibanda attacked a group of friends who were walking in Gillingham High Street in the early hours of April 29.

The 25-year-old, formerly of Fir Tree Grove, approached the group, of a woman and three men, at around 3.20am and accused them of talking about him.

Sibanda punched the woman in the face and when her friends tried to intervene, he used a knife to assault two of the men.

One of the victims suffered a long slash down the side of his face and was taken to a London hospital for treatment.

The other man sustained a four inch slash wound to his chest.

A suspect was identified on CCTV and Sibanda was arrested shortly after. He denied being involved and claimed he had been at a friend’s house all evening and was making his way home.

After an investigation linked to Kent Police's Operation Jupiter team, Sibanda was charged and remanded in custody.

The operation is part of a local strategy designed to tackle gangs, whose members travel into the county from other areas.

Sibanda was sentenced to six years in prison at Maidstone Crown Court on Monday.

He had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm and one count of common assault.

DI Kevin Downard said: "Sibanda is an offender known to our Operation Jupiter team. He was responsible for an entirely unprovoked attack on this group, resulting in some very serious injuries.

"One of his victims required twenty stitches to his face and will sadly be left with a long scar in a prominent place for the rest of his life.

"It is by sheer luck his actions did not lead to more serious injury or even fatal consequences.

"Thankfully we have been able to swiftly bring Sibanda to justice and his imprisonment means we have also been able to remove another dangerous criminal from our streets."