A teenager “calmly” stabbed a helpless man in the neck after a nine-strong gang set upon him, a jury was told.

Jacob Cromwell, 19, is on trial for attempting to murder Ashley Grainger in Ramsgate town centre last year.

Mr Grainger was also knifed twice in the back, causing a punctured lung, before Cromwell knelt down and stabbed him in the neck, Canterbury Crown Court heard.

“At the time of the infliction of that stab wound Ashley Grainger had just been beaten, kicked and stamped on by the group comprising the defendants.

“He was lying helpless on the floor with the defendants’ group having seemingly successfully beaten him up and moved away.

“It was at that point that Mr Cromwell, moved towards Ashley Grainger and calmly stabbed him in the neck while he was laying on the floor.

“Having done so Mr Cromwell then moved off away from his victim,” prosecutor Simon Taylor said.

The violence erupted outside United Taxi's in Harbour Street on May 11 just after 3am following an ongoing feud with Casey Carter, the court heard.

Tensions flared when a row broke out between the two in Clique Bar, Harbour Parade, spilling onto the street.

In a police interview following the attack, Mr Grainger told officers: “They stopped kicking, I stood up and I discovered that I was bleeding for a while.

“I had a grey top on - that had turned red. That is when I panicked, I realised I had been stabbed - a cold kind of came over me.

“At that point I only realised it was my neck, then, in the ambulance, I discovered I had been stabbed in the lung as well.

“At the time of the infliction of that stab wound Ashley Grainger had just been beaten, kicked and stamped on..."

“I will never forget that five minute break before the ambulance came, I just had my eyes shut praying at the time.”

He told detectives an unknown person held his neck, stemming the loss of blood, before medics arrived.

Rushed to King’s College Hospital in London where he would stay for 11 days, surgeons battled to repair three main veins in his neck, vocal cords and a lung, the court heard.

Mr Grainger told officers he was unable to swallow and fed through a drip for nine days but miraculously escaped any bruising to the body.

Mr Taylor told the jury: “(The stabbing) is an act that can only have been calculated to kill - why else stab someone in the neck?

“So for that reason the crown say Jacob Cromwell is guilty of attempted murder.”

But John Barker, for Cromwell, argued his client was not carrying a knife, did not stab, or intend to cause serious wounding to Mr Grainger.

All of the defendants’ cases are yet to be heard.

Cromwell, registered no fixed abode, denies attempted murder, wounding with intent but pleaded guilty to violent disorder.

Harry Ousley, 19, of Charlotte Square, Margate, denies violent disorder.

Kieran Day, 19, of Dane Crescent, Ramsgate, denies attempting to cause grievous bodily harm and violent disorder.

Isaac Roberts, 19, of Chilton Lane, Ramsgate, denies violent disorder and causing actual bodily harm against Marvin McIntosh, who intervened.

Twin Joshua Roberts, 19, of the same address, denies actual bodily harm, grevious bodily harm and violent disorder.

"I just had my eyes shut praying at the time...”

A total of four defendants have already pleaded guilty for their part in the violence, and so will not face trial.

Jayden Cashin, 19, of Beatrice Road, Margate, admitted violent disorder and attempting to cause grievous bodily harm.

A 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, admitted violent disorder and attempting to cause grievous bodily harm.

Ashley Dorsett, 19, of Inverary Court, Ramsgate, admitted violent disorder and attempting to cause grievous bodily harm.

Casey Carter, 19, of Beach Walk, Broadstairs, pleaded guilty to violent disorder.

They will be sentenced at a later date.

To read more of our in depth coverage of all of the major trials coming out of crown and magistrates' courts across the county, click here.

Read more: All the latest news from Thanet