A thug who held a knife to a woman’s throat and threatened to kill her in her own kitchen was starting almost three years in prison today.

Jayden Bellingy had barged into Grace Churn’s High Wycombe home in the early hours of December 23, 2019, while a young child slept upstairs, a judge was told.

The 24-year-old Aylesbury man had pushed the victim over her kitchen sink and menaced her with the knife, prosecutors said.

As he left the address, Bellingy warned Ms Churn that if she went to the police he would come back and do her harm, the court heard.

Judge Catherine Tulk, sitting at the Amersham Law Courts, commented: “There was clearly more than just some distress caused to the victim.

“She only engaged with the police when she had taken herself away from her home in High Wycombe to an alternative address some miles away.”

Bellingy had 11 previous convictions for 15 offences including robbery, public order offences and criminal damage. He had made court appearances over breaching a suspended sentence, a restraining order and a non-molestation order.

In 2014, Bellingy was convicted of actual harm against a former girlfriend who he knifed after being served with a police order not to go near her.

Judge Tulk told him: “You stabbed her in the buttock and you made threats as to what you would do to her if she were to report back to the police - frighteningly similar to what you were doing in December 2019.”

Ms Churn had been targeted after she argued with her “best friend” Jennifer Hughes, of St Hughs Avenue, High Wycombe, who also appeared as a defendant in court on Wednesday.

Hughes and Ms Churn “fell out spectacularly” on the night of the incident, causing the defendant to travel with Bellingy to their victim’s address, the judge said.

The court heard how Hughes and Ms Churn began “scuffling and scrapping” on the floor. Hughes got on top of Ms Churn and began punching the victim, who was then threatened by Bellingy, the court heard.

In a victim impact statement, Ms Churn said: “I am honestly terrified of them after the threats they made towards me and to other people and I honestly thought they would come and slash my throat.

“I cannot believe that they think they can go to someone’s house, threaten them with a knife with their family and a young child in the house.”

Hughes, 23 and of previous good character, told jurors that she believed Ms Churn had reported her to social services regarding the care of her three young children.

Following a trial, she was convicted of one count of causing actual bodily harm, which she had denied. Bellingy was convicted of threats to kill and possession of a bladed article.

Defending Hughes, Darren Almeida said: “This was clearly a close friendship between Ms Churn and Ms Hughes which deteriorated.

“We saw from Ms Hughes, from her evidence, how upset she got that she had lost that friendship and the animosity that caused.”

Judge Tulk, who told the court that Ms Churn’s injuries were not serious in the context of ABH, sentenced Hughes to a 12-month community order with 25 Rehabilitation Activity Requirement days.

Bellingy, of Harvey Road, Aylesbury, had already served nine months in custody by time served in prison on remand and on an electronic monitoring tag, the court heard.

Briony Molyneux, defending him, said: “He has been exposed to domestic violence at an early age. He is somebody who has struggled over the years to process and deal with his emotions and sometimes in relationships as well.”

Judge Tulk sentenced Bellingy to two years and nine months in jail, citing his previous convictions and the amount of distress caused to the victim as aggravating factors.

“You have breached your bail conditions on two separate occasions in January last year and as recently as March 4 this year your mother called the police out because of your behaviour towards her and her fear of what you might do”, the judge said.

“You completed the Thinking Skills programme whilst you were in custody which has clearly had no effect on you.”