Her partner Luke Humphreys looked through the peephole but did not see anything.

When he opened the door, he found Diggins, who sprang from his hiding place and said: “Give me £20.”

Prosecutor Gemma Noble said: “The defendant was holding a large red kitchen knife said to be about eight inches long.

“As he tried to bring the knife down on Mr Humphreys, Mr Humphreys quickly slammed the door shut, but the defendant managed to get the blade between the door and the frame.”

“He didn’t seem human...”

The court heard Mr Humphreys struggled to keep the door shut as Diggins - whom he had known as a childhood friend - kicked from the other side.

Ms Noble recounted how Diggins, 30, then ran around the property, broke through a garden gate and tried to enter through the back door, pounding on the kitchen window with his fist.

Fortunately, Mr Humphreys had got there first and locked the door.

“Jessica Fright described being terrified for her daughter, and genuinely believed that if he got inside, he would stab her and her partner,” added Ms Noble.

“She said she was petrified of how aggressive and unpredictable he was. She said he didn’t seem human.”

The incident on the evening of May 6 ended with Diggins running off. He was arrested three days later, but to all questions asked by police, he answered “no comment”.

The court also heard how just weeks before the attempted home-invasion, Diggins had approached Mr Humphreys while he was riding his bicycle in the neighbourhood and asked him for drugs.

Ms Noble said: “When Mr Humphreys told him he didn’t have any, the defendant pulled a claw hammer out from his person, raised it into the air and lunged at him.”

She added that Mr Humphreys managed to escape unscathed, but that Diggins had then used to hammer to damage the bike.

Diggins had previously pleaded guilty to attempted burglary, attempted robbery, threatening a person with an offensive weapon, possession of a bladed article and two counts of criminal damage.

Mitigating, Natasha Spreadborough said: “He has demonstrated a significant level of remorse for his behaviour and admits that he behaved - and I quote - ‘like an absolute idiot’.

“He’s embarrassed by his actions, and at no point did he want to cause anyone any trauma, particularly as he knew Mr Humphreys as a child.”

The court heard Diggins is a father to two daughters, but has a history of “going off on benders” and has nine convictions for 16 offences - all of which his lawyer blamed on drug use.

“In 2021, his relationship with his partner broke down and - by his own admission - he went off the rails,” continued Ms Spreadborough.

The former construction worker, who committed the offences while serving a community order, had been held on remand since being arrested on May 9.

He appeared in the dock for his sentencing hearing on Friday wearing a white sports t-shirt and remained silent throughout the proceedings.

Judge Alison Russell said that while his crimes were being recounted, she had observed Diggins shaking his head.

“This makes me question just how heartfelt your remorse truly is,” she said, before jailing him for six years and nine months.