A Dartford woman woke up in the middle of the night to see her neighbour at the end of her bed holding a kitchen knife. 

Andrzej Kitrys, 39, told her he had killed the man she lived with and was going to murder her too. 

He stabbed her multiple times with the knife before she managed to disarm him and flee. 

On Thursday (February 8) Kitrys was jailed for 21 years for attempted murder. 

Kent Police said Kitrys had been sub-letting a room at a property on London Road in Stone for three months.

But the other tenants, a man and a woman, had recently asked him to leave.

In the early hours of October 8, 2022, the woman was asleep alone in her room when she woke up to see Kitrys sitting on her bed. 

He told her he’d killed the other tenant and was going to kill her, then stabbed her repeatedly. 

She managed to disarm him and escape with wounds to her neck, throat and hands. 

A neighbour called 999 and officers forced entry into the building where they found they arrested Kitrys. 

The other resident was found uninjured. 

Kitrys was convicted on September 12 last year after a trial at Maidstone Crown Court. 

On Thursday he was sentenced to 21 years in prison, of which he will serve two thirds before he can apply for parole. 

On his release, he will remain on licence for a further four years. Kitrys will also be subject to a restraining order for 30 years. 

Detective Constable Rebecca Ward, of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, said: "This dangerous individual inflicted a violent and cowardly assault on a vulnerable woman in her own bed. 

"The victim bravely fought him off and fled the scene thinking only of seeking help to protect the other tenant in the house. Kitrys was swiftly arrested by our firearms officers and is now, quite rightly, starting a very long prison sentence."