A drunken intruder has been jailed for an attack in which he forced a vulnerable victim to strip naked before locking him into a tiny dog cage.
Colin Daniels throttled the terrified householder with a piece of electric cord and punched and headbutted him before humiliating him by making him climb into the cage.
He left victim David Collier trapped naked inside the metal pen after tying it shut with the electric flex after he fled the scene.
The terrified man was only rescued because a neighbour in the house in Tiverton heard the commotion and went to check on him, Exeter Crown Court was told.
Daniels, aged 38, of The Maples, Barnstaple, who was living at Cannington Road, Witheridge, at the time, admitted causing actual bodily harm and was jailed for two years.
A second man who took part in the attack and who stole some of Mr Collier's property from the flat at The Retreat, Tiverton, has not been identified.
Judge Francis Gilbert, QC, told Daniels:"The victim was alone and you had been drinking. You put an electric cable around his neck from behind and pulled it tight so he could not breathe and feared for his life.
"He managed to get his fingers between the cord and his neck but you told him to take them away. He did not and began to release the ligature and you responded by punching him twice in the face and headbutting him.
"With the ligature still around his neck, you forced him to strip naked apart from his socks and to get into that dog cage, which you secured with the cable to prevent him escaping.
"You told him if he grassed on you he would be dead. He was rescued by a concerned neighbour and his victim impact statement shows this has had an enduring effect on him.
"This was a very serious assault. It was sustained and there were two of you attacking this man in his own home. You used the cable as a weapon."
Miss Mary McCarthy, prosecuting, said Daniels and the other man arrived at Mr Collier's flat at 5.30 pm carrying whisky and he invited them in and at first everything went well.
Daniels asked if he could find a cannabis dealer and attacked him when he failed, cutting the cord off his vacuum cleaner and using it to throttle him.
The victim was left with cuts and bruises on his face and a cut and red mark on his neck and is psychologically scarred by being locked in the dog cage.
The two intruders left with some of his property and his dogs, which were found by police after being released to stray on the streets of Tiverton.
Miss McCarthy said:"Mr Collier is now scared to go out and suffers depression and anxiety. He cannot understand why it happened and is worried about what will happen in the future."
Mr Lee Bremridge, defending, said Daniels has changed his lifestyle in the 13 months since the attack and has been combating his alcohol problem with the help of specialist counsellors in Barnstaple, where he is living in supported accommodation.
He said:"At the time he was drinking heavily and had problems with accommodation and with his partner."
He said Daniels is now reconciled with his girlfriend, who is the mother of his two children and lives in South Molton.
