A violent Islamophobic thug who stabbed an innocent bystander in the neck outside a supermarket told police it was revenge for “ISIS beheadings”.
Michael Hilton attacked an Asian man as he sat in his car outside Tesco, stabbing him with a pair of scissors in the neck.
A court heard he then dialled 999 and said “they should not be beheading people” and “God told me to do it”.
Hilton, who claimed he had been hearing voices telling him to attack Muslim people, said he carried out the stabbing “in the name of all the people beheaded by ISIS”.
The victim, 32, was left with a scar from the puncture wound and is now wary of strangers, Newcastle Crown Court heard.
He said he found the references by his attacker to the terrorist killers “deeply disturbing”.
He added: “There is no need for a complete stranger to make such racist remarks towards me in relation to race or religion.”
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The court heard the victim had been waiting outside a Tesco store in Sunderland, with friends in his car, when Hilton approached and asked for a light, in November 2014.
Neil Jones, prosecuting, said: “The injured party, not being a smoker, looked to the rear passengers in the car and discovered no one had a lighter.
“While he was turning, his neck was stabbed by this defendant, using a pair of scissors.”
The court heard Hilton left the scene after the stabbing but rang 999 to confess what he had done and made the religious hatred remarks.
Mr Jones said: “It seems the focus was on Islam.”
The court heard the victim had to undergo a series of Hepatitis B injections after the attack and was left traumatised but his wound healed well.
Hilton, 33, of Balmoral Terrace, East Herrington, Sunderland, who has been assessed in hospital by psychiatrists and has been in prison on remand for the last 16 months, admitted religiously aggravated assault.
Recorder David Wilby QC sentenced him to a community order with supervision for 18 months.
The judge said the period Hilton has served on remand means he has spent more time in custody than the guidelines for such an offence suggest would be appropriate.
The judge added: “I want to make it clear to the complainant in this case that I am in no way belittling the gravity of the offence.
“He was stabbed in the neck with a pair of scissors by this man.”
The judge said Hilton’s psychological and personality problems can be managed with help from the probation service in a bid to avoid a repetition of the behaviour.
Hilton has previous convictions and has served time in prison in the past for violence.
Vic Laffey, defending, said Hilton will stay away from trouble if he takes his prescribed medication and avoids alcohol.
