Man is jailed for stabbing bouncer

A knife-wielding thug who stabbed a bouncer after he had been thrown out of a pub in Wolverhampton has been jailed for two years.

Anthony Griffiths, aged 21, left the blade in the chest of his 39-year-old victim, who had ordered him out of the Queens Arms pub in Graiseley.

Wolverhampton Crown Court heard how the bouncer, Fidelis Idemudia, who has a child, had become aware of trouble in the pub on the night of the attack in July.

Griffiths was thrown out and became aggressive, it was said.

Mr Mark Rees, prosecuting, said: "The defendant took his top off, rushed the injured party and struck out in a punching motion with his right hand.

"The injured party felt pain straight away and saw that he'd been stabbed. The knife was still sticking in him. He pulled the knife out and went inside the pub and put it on a table."

Police were called and Griffiths was arrested just a few metres away from the Graiseley Row pub. The victim was taken to hospital with a 1cm cut to his abdomen and was discharged after two days.

Mr Rees said he had suffered "a great deal of mental torment."

He said: "The potential that his child could have been without a father had some considerable effect on him. He thinks that the memory of what happened to him will remain with him constantly."

The court also heard Griffiths, who has convictions for affray and motoring offences, swore and shouted homophobic abuse at pub manager Sam Fisher.

Griffiths, of Wellington Road, East Park, admitted wounding, possession of an offensive weapon and harassment. Officials deemed him to "pose a high risk of reconviction and a high risk to the public."

Mr Richard Atkins, defending, said Griffiths had "gone off the rails" at the age of 14 and had no recollection of the attack.

Judge Michael Challinor said: "Knife crime of this sort causes considerable public concern and courts must do all they can discourage this type of violence."