A teenager who "calmly" knifed his victim in the neck and back in a shocking town centre attack has been jailed for 11 years for attempted murder.

Jacob Cromwell, 18, stabbed Ashley Grainger in Harbour Street, Ramsgate, after the victim left a venue near the seafront at about 3am on May 12, last year.

It is thought a friend of Mr Grainger's had been in a dispute with a friend of Cromwell's earlier in the night.

Cromwell and a group of others then chased Mr Grainger, 25, through the town.

The victim was cornered outside Crusties Bakery in Harbour Street, where he was repeatedly punched, kicked and stamped on as he tried to defend himself, before being stabbed twice in the back, and in the throat.

CCTV later showed it was Cromwell who had pulled a knife from his trousers and inflicted the stab wounds.

The resulting cuts narrowly missed an artery in Mr Grainger's neck. He was rushed to King’s College Hospital in London where he would stay for 11 days, as surgeons battled to repair three main veins in his neck, vocal cords and a lung.

Cromwell was arrested by police after clothes he wore in photos posted online were matched with those he was seen wearing in CCTV on the night of the attack.

Cromwell, of no fixed address, denied stabbing Mr Grainger.

But he was found guilty of attempted murder on February 27 following a trial at Canterbury Crown Court.

During the trial, prosecutors said Cromwell went “way over the top” as a group of yobs punched, kicked and stomped Mr Grainger before “calmly” stabbing him.

Mr Grainger told the court of his shock after realising he had been stabbed.

“They stopped kicking, I stood up and I discovered that I was bleeding for a while," he said. “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.

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

Cromwell was sentenced today to 11 years at the same court.

“I will never forget that five minute break before the ambulance came..."

Senior investigating officer DCI Chris Greenstreet, said: "I welcome this sentence, which reflects the seriousness of what was a horrific crime.

"The victim was chased through Ramsgate by a group who repeatedly assaulted him. His attackers then punched, kicked and stamped on him before Jacob Cromwell moved in with a knife.

"He swung the weapon at the victim with no regard for the injuries he would cause and the victim was fortunate not to have been killed.

"The casual way in which Cromwell was willing to use a knife on someone who was posing no threat shows him to be a dangerous man and I’m pleased he will now be taken off the streets of Thanet for a significant amount of time.

"Kent Police takes a robust, proactive and zero tolerance approach to knife crime and will take action against anyone who carries or uses a knife.

"The thorough investigation we carried out into this attack and the number of convictions secured shows the lengths we will go to in order to bring violent offenders to justice."

Seven other defendants, who also took part in the violence, are due to 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.

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