Five sentenced after men slashed in Midland Stanley knife attack

Russell Broughton lashed out with the blade at Robert and Thomas Cadby when the trio squared up in the Mailbox's Bar Room Bar in Birmingham on April 6 last year.

The flare-up was the culmination of tit-for-tat attacks going back many years that were sparked by rows over an outstanding debt, heard Birmingham Crown Court.

The Cadby brothers, from Castle Vale, went into the bar looking for 44-year-old Broughton at around 8.30pm on the Saturday night and, after finding him drinking with friends, smashed cocktail glasses over his head.

In the melee that followed Robert Cadby, aged 50, was slashed from his ear across his throat, while his 51-year-old sibling Thomas suffered chest and facial lacerations.

George Cadby ? Robert's 21-year-old son ? and 19-year-old friend Ashley Smyth chased Broughton out of the venue and, when they caught up with him in Holliday Road, left him with serious injuries after a vicious beating.

Despite the extent of the injuries none of the warring parties made complaints to the police or moved to help officers with their enquiries ? but West Midlands Police still pushed for a 'victimless' prosecution.

And at Birmingham Crown Court today Broughton ? from Locking Croft, Castle Vale ? was sentenced for four years after admitting wounding and possessing a knife in public. The judge took into account Broughton was not the initial aggressor.

George Cadby, from Cadbury Drive, and Smyth from Blenheim Drive ? both in Castle Vale ? admitted wounding with intent to cause GBH and were both sentenced to six years in prison.

Robert Cadby, from Cadbury Drive, and Thomas Cadby from Hawker Drive both admitted assault and were handed 15-month sentences.

West Midlands Police Sergeant Harjit Ubhi, said: "The attack was the result of a long-standing feud. They were initially associates but there was bad blood over a debt and also a tribal element over 'ownership' of their estate.

"This was an outrageously violent incident in a busy club in front of many people who were out enjoying themselves. They clearly thought that if they refused to co-operate with police then we would be powerless to prosecute - but they were sadly wrong.

"In cases like this, where we have no 'victim' as such because no-one has complained, we can still build cases against those involved and push for prosecutions. These men clearly thought they were above the law - that they could commit offences and get away with it. But that confidence, that smugness has been shattered because we've brought them to justice and got some violent men locked up for a considerable period of time."

Detectives traced Broughton to an address in Woodlands Farm Road, Pype Hayes, the night after the attack.

As officers stormed the front door Broughton ran from the rear of the property and crashed through and over garden fences, but was quickly downed by a police dog and handler who had been placed to cut off potential escape routes.

The Stanley knife used by Broughton was recovered by police search specialists near the Mailbox, having been thrown over a wall as he ran from the centre.

Det Sgt Ubhi, added: "This was a small knife but one, as we've seen in this case, can inflict very serious injuries. Had it not been for some off-duty paramedics, who were on a night out and came to the victims' aid, we may well have been looking at a fatality.

"Broughton claimed he carried it for his own protection, but all it's done is secured him a long jail sentence. Anyone using a knife in anger can expect to waste much of their life behind bars."