Anthony Bennett, aged 23 and of Oriel Crescent, Kirkdale in Liverpool, and David Foster, 21 and of Fourth Avenue in Liverpool, appeared at Bournemouth Crown Court to be sentenced on Friday 9 February 2018 after admitting a charge of wounding with intent.

Bennett was sentenced to four years and five months in prison and Foster was sentenced to four years and eight months.

At around 8pm on Monday 4 December 2017 the victim, a man aged in his 20s, left his home in Lydford Road and was approached by two men as he walked along the pavement.

The men asked where the victim’s step-brother was but he replied that he did not know.

One of the men told the other to ‘stab him’ and the victim felt something strike him on the right arm, just below the bicep.

He did not see anything in the man’s hands but felt an instant pain and ran back to his home. As he did so he saw his arm was bleeding heavily. The victim got home and called an ambulance and was treated in hospital for a stab wound to his right arm.

Following police enquiries, officers attended an address in Turnbull Lane, Bournemouth, at around 2pm on Wednesday 6 December 2017 to execute a warrant. The two defendants, Bennett and Foster, were detained while trying to run away from the address.

The following day the victim identified Foster as the man who stabbed him and Bennett as the other man who had been with him.

Detective Constable Holly Sexton, of Bournemouth CID, said, “This was a violent attack with a weapon that left the victim with a nasty injury and it is fortunate that it was not even more serious.

“I hope the sentence imposed by the court sends out a message that this kind of violent behaviour will be taken very seriously and offenders will be brought to justice.”