Man stabbed former friend in Walsall street

A man who repeatedly stabbed a former friend in a Walsall street has been jailed for 19 months.

Thomas Hall struck as Nigel Arrowsmith walked out of Walsall town centre, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor John Edwards said: "They had known each other since both were children and the victim regarded him as a friend.

"But matters changed in the autumn of last year when Hall started to bully another friend of Mr Arrowsmith."

Hall, aged 30, was holding a weapon in carrier bag and shouted at the victim: "Sort it out with the other lad."

A brawl flared between the two men during which 31-year-old Mr Arrowsmith was stabbed in the head and chest.

Christopher Rodwell, defending, maintained that the attack was carried out with a trowel rather than a knife.

The lawyer explained that the life of the defendant, who had previous convictions for theft, shoplifting and violence, had been blighted by drug and alcohol problems

Hall, from Bloxwich Road, Walsall admitted wounding and insisted in a letter read to the court: "I am desperate to change my life."

By John Scott