Newcastle knifeman stabbed stranger in street after fight erupted about "scared" dog

Thomas Grant, a woman and the pet had been walking past a pub in Byker, Newcastle, where the victim and his friends were sitting outside and they started stroking the animal. Newcastle Crown Court heard a fight erupted between the two groups after Grant and the female started arguing and the victim noticed that dog "appeared scared" and so confronted them.

During the violence, in June last year, Grant pulled out a Stanley knife and stabbed the victim in the chest. Prosecutor Samuel Ponniah told the court: "The defendant had a female acquaintance with him and a dog. The complainant and his friends began petting the dog and as they did the defendant was arguing with the woman.

"The complainant noticed the dog appeared scared and confronted the defendant about it."

Mr Ponniah said a fight broke out between the two groups and Grant then pulled out the knife and stabbed the victim in the chest, leaving his shirt "sodden with blood". The victim said the injury, which caused pain, limits what he can do at the gym and has left a scar which is a "constant reminder".

A judge said the stabbing is a classic example of "fisticuffs" turning into something far more serious once someone produces a knife. Grant, 40, of no fixed address, admitted unlawful wounding.

Mr Recorder Jonathan Sandiford sentenced him to 27 months behind bars and said: "This is a case which demonstrates why courts almost inevitably impose custodial sentences on people who carry knives in public.

"What was a dispute and fisticuffs outside a pub has became something else altogether when you produced a knife and stabbed the complainant in the chest. The fact you had a knife, you produced it and used it could have turned what was a relatively minor physical confrontation and minor verbal altercation into an offence of murder or manslaughter.

“The fact you stabbed someone in the chest could have resulted in him being killed."

Penny Hall, defending, said Grant was carrying the knife because he was homeless. The court heard since being remanded in custody Grant has completed courses and is working hard to ensure he can "live life differently" when he is released.