Violent Mark Walker threatened to stab a postman to death – just days after appearing in court for attacking him.
The 34-year-old called a Royal Mail customer service adviser to say he was going to kill the postie – who he had previously assaulted – after seeing him on his rounds.
Royal Mail had suspended deliveries to the Birks Street area of Stoke last December after Walker's initial attack.
But days after being sentenced, Walker made the threats over the phone and later approached the victim in the street and threatened him again.
Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard Walker also made threats to kill an Iceland delivery driver on a separate occasion.
He has now been jailed for two-and-a-half years after a judge expressed his concern about Walker's repeated behaviour.
Prosecutor Hunter Gray said Hunter was given a conditional discharge on January 5 for assaulting the postal worker.
He said: "On January 13 the defendant telephoned a customer services adviser at Royal Mail.
"He said he was from Birks Street and that he had been convicted of assaulting a postman. He said he had just seen the same postman and was going to 'stab him in the heart until he dies'. He also said he would smash his face in. He said he had nothing to lose.
"The adviser described him as very aggressive. The defendant said the postman should be removed from the route immediately because he would kill him."
The court heard Walker later saw the same postman as he was completing his round. Mr Gray said: "The defendant approached him and said words to the effect of, 'What are you doing on this delivery? The manager said you would be taken off it'.
"He approached the postman and raised his fist as though he was going to punch him, but stopped short of doing so. Nonetheless the victim was extremely worried by what occurred."
Walker was arrested and three months later – while on police bail – made a call to his community psychiatric nurse during which he made further threats to kill following a dispute with an Iceland delivery driver. She took him seriously and informed the police.
He went on to admit two charges of making threats to kill, threatening revenge and a charge of criminal damage relating to an incident where he smashed up a taxi after being dropped off following a court appearance.
The court heard he had breached a suspended sentence by committing the offences, and that he had previous convictions for attacking a Sainsbury's trolley collector, as well as a staff member at Harplands Hospital and a civilian detention officer.
Barry White, mitigating, said Walker had suffered from mental health issues for some time.
"He recognises the problems he has and the help he needs. He is remorseful. He understands he cannot deal with people the way he has been doing."
Sentencing Walker to a total of two-and-a-half years in prison, Judge Paul Glenn said the threats he had made were 'appalling'. He said: "Your offending is escalating in terms of its regularity and severity. Those to whom you made threats took them seriously, and rightly so.
"That postman was just doing his job. People like him deserve the protection of the court."
Following the case a Royal Mail spokesman said: "Thankfully incidents like this are exceedingly rare but we take these matters extremely seriously – our hardworking postmen and women serve their communities six days a week and should be allowed to carry out their job safely."