A MAN from Cwmbran has been locked up for nearly seven years after stabbing another man following a drunken fight in which a folded deck chair and a wheelie bin were used as weapons.

Dylan Willis, 28, of North Road, Croesyceiliog, Cwmbran, admitted wounding Cohen McCann after a garden party on Thursday, June 15.

Recorder of Cardiff Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke, sentencing at Merthyr Crown Court, heard how the friendly get-together took a turn for the worse just after 8.30pm.

A fight between Willis and other members of the group broke out involving blows from a beer bottle, a folded deck chair in the garden and black wheelie bin.

Willis jumped over a fence to retrieve a knife from his ex-girlfriend’s house nearby and used it to stab Mr McCann in the chest. The victim tried to defend himself with a shovel.

Willis ran away after the attack and a first aid-trained neighbour attended the scene. Paramedics arrived in good time, at which point Mr McCann's injuries were thought to be life-threatening.

Police officers located and arrested Willis, who was “clearly intoxicated”, said Judge Lloyd-Clarke.

‘I didn’t know what was happening’

Matthew Cobbe, prosecuting, read a statement from Mr McCann provided on October 25.

Following the attack, Mr McCann, then 25, said he spent six days at the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, followed by another six or seven at Llandough Hospital.

“I was confused and devastated as I didn’t know what was happening to me,” he said. “I honestly didn’t know if I was going to live or die at that point.”

The court heard how he had suffered “severe depression and anxiety” in hospital and, after spending a week on the sofa at home, had to return to Grange University Hospital’s A&E department with “shooting pains”.

The hospital found air around his lung and he had to spend another five days in their care.

“Everything in life was difficult. My mother had to do everything for me,” Mr McCann said, adding in his statement that he felt lucky to be alive.

Caroline Rees, defending, said the attack had taken place at a “time of chaos” for Willis who has become “clearer in his thinking” now he has stopped drinking alcohol.

Ms Rees cited Willis’ guilty plea as the “most powerful” mitigation, emphasising his remorse – and willingness to contribute to projects addressing “that kind of behaviour” in wider society.

Judge Lloyd-Clarke sentenced him to six years and nine months imprisonment with an extended licence of three years in order to "protect the public".

He received concurrent six month sentences for possession of a blade in a public place and assault of a person causing them actual bodily harm.

He was handed a surcharge of £228, payable within three months of his release.