A MAN was stabbed in the chest in front of his two granddaughters after he refused to give a drunk £1 to buy alcohol.

Albert Townhill, 71, was attacked as he left the toilets at Pencester Gardens, Dover, one evening in August last year and suffered a 15mm stab wound to the right side of his chest which was later stitched. He also suffered three other superficial wounds.

His attacker, Ryan Martin, 20, of Leyburn Road, Dover appeared at Canterbury Crown Court on Friday and was sentenced to four years at a young offenders institution having admitted wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

His lawyer said Martin remembered little of the incident having been drinking heavily that day but apologised for what he'd done and was now seeking treatment while in custody for his drink problem.

In a victim impact statement Mr Townhill said he would never walk through Pencester Gardens or use those toilets again and he was wary of youths.

Sentencing Martin, Judge Adele Williams said the shock and trauma of what Mr Townhill must have suffered was hard to imagine knowing as he did that his two granddaughters aged 11 and eight, were witnessing the attack on him and saw him bleed profusely while on the ground waiting for an ambulance.

"That day you behaved in a brutal and cowardly way towards a much older man," she told Martin. She took into account all that had been said on his behalf and gave him credit for his plea.

Forty-three days served on remand will be deducted from his sentence.