A man who went to the aid of a landlord confronted by yobs ended up being attacked with a 12-inch hunting knife.

Innocent victim Martin Bass lost a pint of blood and needed 35 stitches following the vicious assault in the Prince of Wales pub in Rochester in March last year.

Martin Bass had his face slashed

Knifeman Sami Perfect - described by an eyewitness as "acting like a lunatic" - was jailed for nearly five years.

The 19-year-old admitted the wounding which has left Mr Bass with a scar on his face from the top of his head to his chin.

Judge Martin Huseyn told the teenage keen boxer: "What you did with that knife on this occasion was pretty horrendous for your victim and pretty terrifying for everybody else in the pub."

Earlier, defence barrister Stephen Ferson told Mr Bass, who sat just feet away in Maidstone Crown Court: "He wishes to apologise unreservedly for the effect this has had and will have on your life. Although, that apology cannot put back what he has done."

Perfect, a labourer, of Wayfield Road, Chatham, had admitted a charge of wounding with intent and possessing a weapon in public.

Mr Bass needed more than 35 stitches after the attack

He was sentenced to four years and nine months.

The incident, which led to the closure of the Cecil Road pub, happened during a "lock in" when Perfect was drinking with pals. At 12.30am they were asked to leave.

They began arguing with the landlord and Mr Bass, a regular at the pub for 10 years, intervened to try to calm things down.

Prosecutor Paul Valder said what followed was "an unprovoked attack".

He said: "Mr Bass described the atmosphere in the pub as being good and said 'there were no vibes of anything going wrong'."

"He described that everything then went very blurry and fuzzy..."' prosecutor Paul Valder

"There was a group of men, who he did not recognise, speaking to Jim, the landlord. One of them seemed to be winding him up."

When Mr Bass asked the man to calm down, Perfect then stood next to him holding a large army-style knife, the court heard.

"The defendant then slashed Mr Bass with the knife to his face as the victim did his best to move away, but ultimately fainted near to the bar.

"He described that 'everything then went very blurry and fuzzy'," Mr Valder added.

Perfect, who then left with the knife, was identified by the victim and eyewitnesses on Facebook, the court heard.

The attack took place at the Prince of Wales pub in Cecil Road, Rochester

A pubgoer later told how she saw an argument and Mr Bass trying to calm the situation by asking them to leave.

The prosecutor added: "She described the men 'ganging up' on Mr Bass. She then saw the defendant reach into a grey backpack, pull out a large machete-style knife. She describes the defendant as 'swinging the knife around like a lunatic'."

Mr Ferson told the court the attack "was totally out of character".

The judge has also ordered that Perfect stay away from Mr Bass for the next 10 years.

The weapon was never found but police did find a long sheath which they believe housed the machete-type weapon.

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