A man was left fighting for his life after allegedly being stabbed 26 times by a friend, a court heard.

Ryan Abbott woke up in hospital from an induced coma to discover he had been knifed in his chest, groin and buttocks.

The 24-year-old had no recollection of how he came to be so seriously injured and his last memory was meeting up with an old friend, John Brazil, in a Sittingbourne nightclub.

But Maidstone Crown Court was told it was Brazil who had repeatedly stabbed Mr Abbott in Manor Road, Rushenden, on Sheppey.

Prosecutor Catherine Donnelly said at the start of the 22-year-old's trial yesterday it was the Crown's case he intended to kill his friend of nine years.

She told the jury the reason for the attack or its motivation were unclear, but that Brazil was "tired, possibly drunk, high on coke, and lost it" with Mr Abbott.

Brazil, of Barrow Grove, Sittingbourne, denies attempted murder, and an alternative charge of wounding Mr Abbott with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

On his arrest he told police he was the victim of a knife attack and had acted in self-defence.

He also claimed to have lost consciousness at one point.

The court heard Brazil and Mr Abbott had not seen each other for two to three years when they bumped into each other in Life nightclub on Saturday, November 10, last year.

"The truth is that John Brazil, tired, possibly drunk, high on coke, lost it with Ryan..." - prosecutor Catherine Donnelly

They had trained at the same boxing gym and Mr Abbott, from Iwade, later told police he recalled chatting with his friend and that there were no problems between them.

His next memory was waking in King's College Hospital, London, having been flown there by air ambulance in a life-threatening condition, and being told he had been repeatedly knifed.

"He had no idea how he came to be stabbed or who did it. He described his injuries, the most serious being a stab wound under his left arm which punctured his lung and diaphragm," said Miss Donnelly.

A medical expert concluded that 'at least' moderate force would have been required to inflict his injuries.

The two men had been joined at the nightclub by Kiele Evans, a friend of Brazil's. She told police they were all drinking, laughing and joking.

In the early hours of Sunday, November 11, all three went back to Mr Abbott's home, where they were met by Mr Abbott's girlfriend, Stacey Blythe and her friend.

The friend did not think the men were drunk but she assumed they had taken cocaine. She then decided to leave.

The court heard the group continued in good spirits, playing music and laughing. Mr Abbott, Miss Blythe and Brazil were all said to have taken cocaine, making them more awake and active.

Miss Evans began to fall asleep on a sofa, where she was then joined by her friends. She later told police that "something happened", possibly Brazil winking at Miss Blythe.

"Ryan got up and put John in a head lock. The two of them rolled over Kiele’s legs and fell onto the floor. Initially she thought that they were just messing about," Miss Donnelly told the court.

"John said, ‘What are you doing, we’re like brothers, what are you doing?’ Stacey thought that they were joking and said, ‘Get off him, what are you doing?'"

The court heard the two women were then told by Brazil to go outside after reassuring them: "Don’t worry, it’ll be alright, you two just go outside, he’s like my brother, it’ll be alright."

However, once in the back garden they heard Mr Abbott scream. They ran indoors and saw Brazil with the knife. He appeared to be leaning on his friend.

"It was not a knife from the house and it was not a knife that she (Stacey) had seen before," continued Miss Donnelly.

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"Stacey said that there was no reason for a knife to be in the living room as she keeps all of her knives in the kitchen area."

Brazil and Mr Abbott were described as being "entangled" and trying to restrain each other. They were both covered in blood and "gripping" the knife.

Miss Evans said it looked as if they were trying to protect themselves. Miss Blythe was screaming, telling them to stop, and Mr Abbott asked her to "get John off".

"Stacey tried grabbing the knife off of John Brazil. But she said it was hard as he did not want to give it to her. She cut two fingers trying to get the knife. Eventually, she succeeded," Miss Donnelly told the jury.

"Kiele ran away. She ran to a nearby field. He then saw Stacey running from the house and followed her. Stacey was screaming ‘They’re stabbing each other, I’ve got to get to my mum.’."

However, Miss Blythe's mum would not let the women in her house due to them also being covered in blood and told them to call police.

"Ryan Abbott has absolutely no recollection of the attack at all..." - prosecutor Catherine Donnelly

Miss Blythe was also said to be holding the knife before putting it in the side band of her trousers.

"Kiele Evans heard her say she needed to get rid of it or Ryan would go down. She seemed panicked," added the prosecutor.

Miss Blythe asked a neighbour to call police, only to be arrested herself when they arrived.

The court heard Brazil had left the house and was arrested three weeks later at a bedsit in Buxton, Derbyshire.

The knife handle was recovered and his DNA was found on it.

Brazil had a number of old marks and scars that could not be dated but appeared to be predominantly caused by blunt force trauma.

He also had a healed, slash-type wound to the left forearm.

Brazil was interviewed and gave a prepared statement in which he said: "I was present at the scene of the incident but did not attack anyone.

"I was in fact attacked with a knife and acted in self-defence during this but received a number of injuries.

"In fact, I believe I lost consciousness at some point."

However, Miss Donnelly told the court: "On November 11 last year John Brazil stabbed Ryan Abbott 26 times.

"The Crown’ s case is that he intended to kill him. As you will see it is not clear why this attack took place or what the motivation for it might have been.

"Ryan Abbott and John Brazil had been friends for nine years before this incident. Although they had not seen each other for about two to three years before this particular evening.

"Ryan Abbott has absolutely no recollection of the attack at all.

"He ran away and stayed away until the police caught up with him..." - prosecutor Catherine Donnelly

"You will hear that Stacey and Ryan Abbott were having difficulties at the time of this incident. It may be suggested that she is responsible for the injuries to Ryan Abbott.

"The Crown say this is clearly not correct. She was the one who tried to stop the fight. She was the one who asked for the police to be called.

"Furthermore, it is impossible to know when and how she might have done this.

"The truth is that John Brazil, tired, possibly drunk, high on coke, lost it with Ryan. Ryan Abbott suffered 26 wounds and was on life support. John Brazil had little in the way of injury.

"He said he passed out but CCTV shows him walking away. Furthermore, the two men were friends. He had no reason to believe his friend would lie about him.

"He could not have known Ryan Abbott would end up with no recall of the incident.

"But he ran away and stayed away until the police caught up with him. By itself that may not assist you.

"But it shows that he knew that Stacey was not the one the police needed to be looking for. He ran away, we suggest, because he was responsible."

The trial continues.

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