SURREY police and crime commissioner Kevin Hurley has said he wants to “batter” and “break the legs” of a soon-to-be-released criminal in a furious online tirade.

In a passionate message posted on his personal Facebook page, Mr Hurley also blasted the “incompetent know-nothing party politicians” running against him in the crime commissioner election this May, as well as lenient Government sentencing rules and a lack of prisons.

The rant was apparently inspired after the independent commissioner visited the victim of a stabbing concerned about the imminent release of the man convicted for his assault.

Mr Hurley posted: “This morning I went and saw a couple of Surrey residents who were upset with the judges, Crown Prosecution Service, police.

“The husband had been stabbed in the lung by a violent neighbour and the wife and mother was terrified that the criminal comes out of prison soon. He only got a short sentence. She was scared for her children who’d seen their dad near bleeding to death.

“After years of this I was angry, this criminal has destroyed the confidence of a family. I wanted to go and see the stabber and batter him. I wanted to break his legs.

“I was sick of years of listening to misery and seeing criminals avoid the severe sentences they deserve. It’s not the fault of the judges by the way, they are constrained by Government sentencing rules. There are not enough prisons.”

The self-declared “zero tolerance” police commissioner added the case brought him close to the brink of stepping down as a candidate this May, before being “re-energised” by the passion shown by two women working on behalf of domestic violence victims.

“I am going to win this election,” he continued. “Not because I really want the job, but because I cannot allow incompetent know-nothing party politicians to do it. It’s too important for the victims and the safety of those I care about.

“I am Marmite, blunt and pushy. I am not a political idiot toying with ideas and concepts they know nothing about. I’ve smelt the blood of victims and had it on my clothes. I will continue the fight.”

It is not the first time Mr Hurley has courted controversy, having recently made national headlines after claiming he wanted to sack former Surrey Police chief Lynne Owens in response to a succession of scathing reports by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC).

The current police and crime commissioner was also criticised by his Lib Dem election rival, Paul Kennedy, this week after Home Office figures suggested violent crime in Surrey had increased 80 per cent over the past two years.