A THUG has been jailed for five years after brutally knifing a man who apparently made a jibe about his mum.

Michael Gardiner slashed James Reid right down his chest outside the Guildhall and Linen Exchange pub in Dunfermline on November 13.

A judge heard how the victim was struck just millimetres from vital organs.

Gardiner was sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow today (Monday).

He had earlier admitted assaulting Mr Reid to his severe injury, permanent disfigurement and danger of life.

Judge Johanna Johnston QC told the 37-year-old: “This was a vicious attack which followed upon a minor argument with Mr Reid.

“You fooled him into thinking you were going to shake hands with him but instead slashed and stabbed him to the body.”

Gardiner – who already had a long history of violence – will also be supervised for three years on his release.

The hearing was told how both men knew each other.

Mr Reid was standing outside the Wetherspoons pub when a raging Gardiner confronted him.

After punching the victim, Gardiner apologised and Mr Reid “thought there would be no further trouble”.

But Gardiner went on to knife the victim, who then pleaded with a friend to call an ambulance.

The attacker yelled as he fled: “You better not grass on me.”

Mr Reid needed surgery for a large wound to his chest.

Prosecutor Chris McKenna said: “It was millimetres away from organs. It had the potential to be fatal.”

Gardiner was later traced and stated to police: “Who said I was at Wetherspoons? It was not me.”

Gordon Martin, defending, told the court: “Had this case gone to trial, there would have been evidence that Reid was being less than complimentary about Gardiner's mother.

“However, that does not justify what Gardiner did.”

Sentencing, Judge Johnston said the thug had been deemed a “high risk” of reoffending by social workers compiling a pre-sentencing report.