A jealous boyfriend pursued a victim and tried to run him over, before repeatedly stabbing him with a "fearsome" hunting knife, in the street.
Nathan Crewe, 32, was angry with the man - for earlier having the audacity to look at his partner in a nightclub - Leicester Crown Court was told.
As the 41-year-old victim made his way to a taxi office, after leaving the Emporium nightclub in Coalville, he heard a vehicle engine loudly revving and wheels spinning.
He was forced to zig-zag out of the path of the van coming after him, in the town centre, in the early hours of Sunday October 13.
Crewe was armed with a large hunting knife, with a curved, serrated-edged blade.
He got out of his van in Market Street and stabbed him in the left inner thigh causing a "significant wound," said Alexander Wolfson, prosecuting.
The assailant also knifed him the right buttock, abdomen and back of his right thigh, as well as causing slash marks to an arm.
Crewe, of Parry Street, off Humberstone Road, Leicester, admitted wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, driving a Citroen van dangerously in Coalville's Memorial Square and High Street, possessing a knife in public, driving when disqualified and having no insurance.
Mr Wolfson said the complainant was the worse for drink in the Emporium, having been consuming alcohol since the afternoon.
He said: "Something happened between him and the defendant's partner, which isn't entirely clear, but it ended up in a confrontation in the club."
Judge Nicholas Dean QC said: "Whatever it was, it doesn't come close to justifying what happened."
The victim later told the police the defendant came up to him saying: "What are you looking at my missus for?"
Crewe pushed him and told him to "stop staring" at his girlfriend and to "get out of the club."
The complainant said he stayed out of the way before leaving to get a taxi home.
On the way, he encountered the female from the club.
More about crime in Leicester
The victim told officers: "She warned me about her boyfriend, saying he was in a 'bad mood' and if he saw me he would kill me."
He described hearing an engine revving and having to zig-zag away from a van that was trying to hit him, with wheels spinning.
The man got out of the van and he remembered being chased, falling to the ground and feeling great pain in the back of his legs.
"I was stabbed five times and have slash wounds on my arm," he said.
After being arrested, Crewe claimed he was just trying to "clip him" with the van, but eventually confessed to the stabbing.
There was no medical report or an up to date victim impact available at court, said Mr Wolfson.
Judge Dean said the injuries were not described as life-threatening or life-changing.
He said: "The defendant is extraordinarily lucky he didn't kill the complainant, which would have had a starting point of 25 years (prison)."
What the judge said
Sentencing Crewe, the judge said: "It may have been misplaced jealousy underlying what happened.
"But (the victim) was no threat to your partner, although he may have made the mistake of seeming to be interested in her - for which he paid a very heavy price.
"You sought him out and tried to run him down.
"You got out of your vehicle and attacked him with a fearsome weapon, a hunting knife.
"You're incredibly fortunate the injuries weren't more serious.
"These events were aggravated by dangerous driving and the offensive weapon."
Judge Dean also said: "You have a fairly bad record of previous convictions culminating in offences of robbery.
"You were released from prison in the first half of 2016, and since then, for three years, you appeared to have knuckled down and changed your life and made a positive impression on people.
"I've read a number of references including from your employer who has known you for two years and speaks well of your work ethic."
He said the defendant's partner, the mother of Crewe's child, had written to the court describing "a happy family life."
The judge added: "It is, therefore, a puzzle as to why you should behave as you did in October.
"In a relatively short period of time you've set yourself back for years."
What was said in mitigation
Grahame James, mitigating, said the defendant had gone home from the club ahead of his partner and when she arrived she told him the complainant had "followed her" and "grabbed hold of her."
He said the hunting knife had belonged to Crewe's recently deceased father.
Crewe took the weapon out with him when he went looking for the victim.
Mr James said: "He went after him and stabbed him in the buttocks."
The defendant was said to be "angry with himself" afterwards, for losing his temper.
The defence barrister added: "At the time he was living with his partner; they have an eight month old baby.
"They hadn't been out for a long time and that's why he's so angry with himself."
Crewe had actively been "making himself a good member of society," using his brickwork and carpentry skills to better himself and regretted the events of "that rather unfortunate evening," said Mr James.
The sentence
Crewe was jailed for six years and nine months.
He was banned from driving for four years and four months.
