While buying a knife in a Gloucester shop, Thomas George-Pain made alarming stabbing motions with it at the counter - then took it to the city centre where he stabbed a man in the shoulder, a court heard last week.

The victim was knifed when he confronted George-Pain for insulting a disabled woman shopper in Eastgate Street, Gloucester, the city crown court was told.

George-Pain, 35, who has a disturbing criminal record for offences of violence, was jailed for 27 months for knifing public-spirited James Hyam, leaving him with a wound that needed eleven stitches.

Prosecutor Greg Gordon told the Court that the incident began with George-Pain entering the Homesense store on St Oswalds Retail Park in Gloucester just before midday on Tuesday, April 4, 2023.

He asked to purchase a knife and pointed to the one he wanted. The manager removed the item from the display cabinet and partially removed the packaging to show him the handle.

"George-Pain then pulled the knife from the packaging and made stabbing gestures with it at waist height," said Mr Gordon. "He was asked to stop and complied and put the knife back in the packaging.

"George-Pain purchased the knife, which had a four-inch blade, for £15. As he left the store, he removed the packaging and put the knife inside his jacket pocket.

"About two hours after leaving the store George-Pain was seen on CCTV outside Boots in Eastgate Street in the city centre where he insulted a woman who has an obvious physical disability. Bystander James Hyam, who heard the insults, followed George-Pain down the street and asked why he had said what he did.

"George-Pain replied: 'What about getting stabbed then?' This was followed by a short exchange after which George-Pain reached inside his jacket pocket and with the knife in his hand made two arching swings at Mr Hyam with his right arm.

"Mr Hyam didn't react immediately after being stabbed with the second swing but soon realised that a lot of blood was coming from his chest.

"He shouted out 'I've been stabbed, I've been stabbed.' A city centre protection warden noticed that Mr Hyam was bleeding profusely and called the emergency services. The operatives monitoring the city's CCTV followed George-Pain and gave the police his location. The police then gave chase before tasering George-Pain and disarming him.

"While in custody he phoned his mother and told her he done something stupid. He admitted to her that he had stabbed somebody in the neck and predicted that he was likely to be sent to prison.

"George-Pain told the officers he had been having psychotic delusions and that he felt he had to kill somebody in order to change."

The court was told that Mr Hyam suffered a wound that was 1.6cm deep to the front of his right shoulder and required 11 stitches.

George-Pain had seven previous convictions for offences against a person and a long history of violence but nothing as serious as latest offence, said the prosecutor.

Mr Gordon said the offence was premediated because he had purchased the knife that day and was seen using jabbing gestures whilst he was buying it. This is a clear indication he wanted to stab somebody and attack them in a particular way, he said.

"In his phone call to his mother, George-Pain admitted that he had stabbed Mr Hyam in the neck. Thankfully this was not the case."

Simon Kitchen, defending said: "At an earlier hearing he wasn't making much sense about anything because of his mental health condition at the time. He was later assessed as to his fitness to plead and after being on medication for a period he did indicate that there wouldn't be the need for a trial.

"After his fitness was assessed, he pleaded guilty to the lesser wounding charge as he didn't stab Mr Hyam in the way the Crown Prosecution Service initially suggested.

"George-Pain's mental illness has been made worse because of his addiction to drugs and alcohol and this led to him to having a bad psychotic episode in which he believed that gangs had taken over Gloucester and were trying to take control of the place where he lived.

"He thought these gang members were out to get him and as consequence he felt it was a good idea to arm himself for his own protection.

"George-Pain had been seeking professional help, but was unsuccessful in this. He was assessed in the emergency department at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital the day before the stabbing because he was hearing voices in his head and came across as being loud and irritable to the hospital staff.

"He suggested that he was like the Lion King in that he heard voices. George-Pain's mother has submitted documentation to the court demonstrating the efforts she had made to get her son the mental health treatment she believes he needs.

"George-Pain himself is fed up with this merry go round which he is on in that when he is released from prison he doesn't not have access to mental health treatment and falls back into a life of drugs and alcohol again to combat the voices in his head."

George-Pain, of Russell Street, Gloucester admitted malicious wounding Mr Hyam and being in possession of a knife in a public place on Eastgate Street in Gloucester on April 4. 2023.

Judge Rupert Lowe told George-Pain: You have seven previous convictions for assaulting people and four offences for possessing knives of one sort or another and three for attempted robbery with one being at knifepoint.

"You have therefore a worrying history of violence and possession and use of weapons. I have seen the documentation that your mother has made in her efforts in trying to get mental health treatment for you since your teenage years. It appears that your issues have not been properly addressed.

"However you purchased a knife on that day and combined with your ongoing use of drugs and alcohol this brought on your strange behaviour that you describe as being a psychotic episode.

"You may feel that you've not received the medical help you need, but you have not helped yourself because you've not attended numerous sessions that have been provided to help you.

"This is a serious matter in which you swung at Mr Hyam and stabbed him on the second attempt. A couple of inches higher it would have been his neck and we could be in completely different circumstances as he could have been killed.

"The problem is that your mental health has made you highly dangerous and it could so easily been so much worse."

In sentencing George-Pain to a prison sentence of 27 months, Judge Lowe concluded: "You have to begin taking responsibility for yourself and that means no drugs or alcohol on your eventual release from prison.

"Being in custody for some time will enable you to become clean of both addictions and be a stepping stone to establish which medical treatment you need to be on in the future. I wish you the best of luck for your rehabilitation in the future."

The judge ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the knife.