Topless man punched love rival before chasing him down street as he swung an axe

A drunk man who punched and chased a love rival down a street while waving an axe in a violent attack has been jailed.

Neighbours raised the alarm when they saw Tomas Brundza in a jealous rage and trying to hit another man with a foot-and-half long axe.

Tomas Brundza, 43, of Chestnut Avenue, Immingham, admitted threatening with an axe on the evening of April 26, last year, Grimsby Crown Court heard.

Craig Lowe, prosecuting said Brundza was drunk and aggressive as he confronted the man and initially punched him causing a bleeding lip, reported GrimsbyLive.

While it appeared as though the attack had ended, Brundza stripped down to the waist, returned five minutes later and this time brandishing an axe.

A court heard that Brundza ran down Hollingsworth Avenue wielding an axe (Google Maps)

The court heard that the victim, who had served in the military, ran off when Brundza came at him with the axe and he was chased down the road.

Neighbours in Hollingsworth Avenue raised the alarm and reported how they saw Brundza swing the axe at the other man on a couple of occasions.

One local resident did intervene and pushed Brundza into one of the properties on the street before the police arrived and the defendant was arrested.

The axe was never recovered, the court heard.

Proceedings were translated to the defendant by a Lithuanian interpreter.

Richard Lunn, defending, said the incident with the axe lasted only around 30 seconds and involved a limited number of people. He also pointed out that the attack had taken place 16 months ago and there had been no further incidents.

"This was an incident wholly out of character. It was jealousy issues and he had consumed a significant amount of alcohol," said Mr Lunn.

He said that Brundza was now reconciled with his partner and supports her and their daughter, while adding that his client was now abstaining from consuming alcohol.

Judge Michael Fanning said swinging the axe at the man risked serious harm and jailing the defendant to one year and four months in prison he added that he wanted to make the message clear that anyone carrying out knife crime can expect a jail sentence.