'They were fearsome weapons': Drunk thug brandished dagger and sword in street before stabbing his friend in the back

Joshua Stroud pulled out the weapons and was rugby tackled by his friend when he refused to drop them.

Leeds Crown Court heard Stroud was then seen stabbing the man in back three times with one of the blades.

Stroud, 23, pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm and possession of bladed articles in public.

Rukhshanda Hussain, prosecuting, said the defendant had been with a group of friends drinking in Wakefield on the evening of August 23, 2019.

At some point in the evening, Stroud got involved in a disagreement with one of the group and stormed off.

At around 11.30pm, the group had been walking home along Ramsey Road in Middlestown when Stroud jumped out of an alleyway about 30 yards away, waving what the group thought were two mini Samurai swords.

Read more: Woman climbed scaffolding outside Leeds tower block to burgle her boyfriend's flatThe group said he looked angry and ignored requests by the group to drop the weapons.

The victim then tackled Stroud and both fell to the floor during the struggle.

He dropped one of the blades, but stabbed the man with the other weapon.

When they were finally pulled apart, the victim was bleeding from his back and an ambulance was called.

The victim spent two nights at Leeds General Infirmary.

Doctors were unable to stitch the wounds because they were close to the muscle, which meant his recovery took longer.

A victim impact statement read out by Miss Hussain said the wounds took six months to heal.

During that time he was unable to work as a labourer and lost his job and home.

He has since found work as a floor fitter but struggles to work with knives and suffers from anxiety.

The defendant said he feared that the group were coming to his house so armed himself.

Stroud has no previous convictions.

Satpal Roth-Sharma, mitigating, said he had been drinking "quite excessively" at the time and was sorry for a "moment of poor decision making".

She said: "He has matured somewhat. After this incident he chose to go to Alcoholics Anonymous and now celebrates sobriety.

"He is a changed person and has turned his life around."

Judge Simon Phillips QC jailed Stroud for 25 months.

He said: "They were fearsome weapons capable of being used to inflict fatal injury.

"You were aggressive and refused to drop the weapons.

"It's clear you are remorseful and regret the poor decisions you made. You were living a lifestyle that was chaotic and frequently drinking to excess.

"To your credit you have ceased using alcohol."

Stroud, of Denton Street, Barnsley, was given a restraining order of indeterminate length to keep him away from the victim.