A FARNBOROUGH motorist who stabbed another driver in a vicious road rage attack was jailed for four years.

Andrew Tolmie, 40, left Shaun Hayward lying in a pool of blood with wounds to his face, leg and hand, and with one of his fingers almost severed.

Guildford Crown Court had heard Mr Hayward, 29, flashed his lights and beeped his horn after Jaguar-driving Tolmie cut him up while using his mobile phone.

Tolmie swerved in front of Mr Hayward, causing him to brake hard and nearly hit a crash barrier.

But Tolmie, a ticket inspector with Thames Trains, stuck his finger up at Mr Hayward.

The incident happened on October 12 last year near Frimley, as Mr Hayward was driving his wife home to Camberley in his Audi A3.

Richard Milne, prosecuting, said Mr Hayward was outraged by Tolmie’s driving and responded by flashing his headlights and sounding the horn.

Tolmie then started to drive erratically, slamming on his brakes suddenly and causing the other car to nearly hit him.

The prosecutor said the Jaguar eventually stopped and Mr Hayward pulled up a little way behind as Tolmie got out, slammed the door of his car and headed towards Mr Hayward, who stood by his car with his wife in the passenger seat.

Mr Milne said: “Mr Hayward recalls the defendant’s shoulder barging him but he managed to push him away, but his glasses were knocked off into the road.

“The next thing he remembers is that there was blood everywhere and he could see his trousers were slashed in a number of places and he thought he had been stabbed.”

The prosecutor said Mr Hayward’s wife had remained in the car but she remembered the defendant coming towards them, swearing and shouting that they had been flashing him, and he had added: “I’ll give you something to flash about.”

Mrs Hayward saw a thin metal object in Tolmie’s hand and she got out to try to break up the fight, the court had heard.

“Tolmie sped off after Mr Hayward’s wife tried to pull him off and said she was calling the police.”

Tolmie was traced by his car registration number and arrested the following day.

At first he denied having a knife but later admitted it was part of a multi-tool, which he threw out of the car window as he drove off. The court heard that Tolmie, who had been drinking, was driving around looking for his girlfriend after the couple had rowed over a kebab and she had driven off in her car.

Tolmie, a father of three of Houseman Road, Farnborough, who had denied the offence, was found guilty of unlawful wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm after a four-day trial.

The court heard Tolmie had a string of previous convictions for violence. Sentencing him, Judge Christopher Critchlow said: “You were plainly worked up and that resulted in the incident a short while later.

“You got out of your car with a multi-tool in your possession. You used that weapon. You caused him a deep wound to his thigh. You cut his face and one of his fingers badly. At the time of the incident you had been using a mobile phone, one reason perhaps why you were not concentrating.

The result of your rage that evening was that Mr Hayward suffered these serious injuries. He suffered permanent facial scarring and post traumatic stress disorder.

“He has had to make over 20 visits to doctors for treatment to his finger and face.

“It is painful for him to laugh and smile. All this is a result of your loss of control.”