AN ENRAGED husband who beat his wife and her lover with a hammer as they lay in bed has been sent to prison.

Jason Alldis was said to have subjected the couple to a "terrifying ordeal" when they woke at 5am to find him in the bedroom of their house in Leas Road, Deal.

The attack was described as "drink-fuelled rage", and at Canterbury Crown Court Mrs Justice Rafferty told Alldis: "If you behave like a rampaging thug that is how the court will deal with you."

Alldis, 33, appeared for sentence having admitted wounding his wife Nicola, assaulting Mark Conway causing actual bodily harm and damaging Mr Conway's car. He was jailed for 27 months.

Ian Foinette, prosecuting, said that the couple's 12-year marriage had been volatile but not violent and that matters came to a head when Alldis moved out in May 2003.

He believed that his wife had formed the relationship with Mr Conway before he left, but the couple say that it was sometime after.

In the early hours of February 22, this year, Mr Conway and Mrs Alldis woke to find her husband with a hammer in the bedroom. He was shouting and began hitting them with the hammer.

Mr Conway curled up to try and avoid the blows and Mrs Alldis threw herself across him as the hammer was aimed at his head and upper body.

She was hit on the forearm causing a cut that exposed the tendons and Mr Conway said that he thought he had been hit about 20 times. He later found windows on his car had been smashed.

He suffered bruising and swelling and a cut arm and Mrs Alldis also had an injury to her foot.

Elaine Stapleton, for Alldis, said he realised he was facing custody and an aggravating feature was the use of a weapon late at night when someone was in bed in their own home.

She said Alldis made no attempt to shirk his responsibility and hadn't intended to go to the matrimonial home or inflict harm on anybody. At the time he was drinking and on medication for mild depression.

"By the time of the incident he had left Deal. He was missing his children and that weekend had been drinking. It was suggested he go and stay at his brother's house which was in the same town and it was planned he could see the children.

"He drove down and saw Mr Conway's car. It was the middle of the night and his wife had told him she wasn't seeing Mr Conway and nor was he staying overnight at the family home," she said.

Alldis had been drinking and taking medication and later admitted to police he must have gone to the shed and got a hammer but it wasn't something he planned or thought about but did on the spur of the moment.

She said since the events of that night, the house was being sold and the couple were getting divorced.

"I submit a community punishment order coupled with a community rehabilitation order would be appropriate. He is working and could pay compensation and costs," said Miss Stapleton.

Jailing Alldis, Mrs Justice Rafferty said: "The terrifying ordeal to which you subjected two individuals was the result of drink fuelled rage, which you chose not to control.

"A medical report makes plain the anti-depressants bore no relevance to your behaviour which had both elements of drink and violence which are not unknown to you having been convicted of affray in 1994 and drink driving in 1997.

"The proposal in the pre-sentence report is wholly unrealistic, a custodial sentence is inevitable.

"I have read a letter from your father, who you have disgraced, and I have reduced the sentence as a result of his moving and realistic words."