Beggar jailed for just two years for stabbing Good Samaritan in the eye and blinding him after he offered to buy him food but refused to give cash

Meshach Harrison stabbed victim in the eye in a Birmingham restaurant

Thug had repeatedly demanded cash from the 25-year-old



Detectives released CCTV footage of Harrison after the attack

Assault happened inside Spices around 7pm on December 5 last year

Police say victim was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time



Homeless Meshach Harrison stabbed the victim in the eye inside a Birmingham restaurant

A beggar has been jailed for just two years for blinding a Good Samaritan who offered to buy him food.

Homeless Meshach Harrison stabbed the victim in the eye inside a Birmingham takeaway.

The thug had repeatedly demanded cash from the 25-year-old and rebuffed offers of food.

Harrison, 29, had been due to stand trial for possession of an offensive weapon and inflicting grievous bodily harm before he admitted the GBH offence at Birmingham Crown Court.

Detectives released CCTV footage of Harrison after the attack, which happened inside Spices takeaway around 7pm on December 5 last year.

The beggar had asked the victim, who was with a friend, for a cigarette.



He was given one but then asked for cash and continued to harass the pair who were walking towards the takeaway.



Despite offering to buy him food, Harrison followed the victim into the takeaway and then stabbed him the left eye with an unknown object.

Speaking at the time of the attack, police said the man was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Det Con Sharon Duncan, from Force CID, said last December: 'The beggar approached the two men on five or six occasions and, even though they offered to buy him food, he kept asking for cash.

'Finally he struck one of the men in his left eye with an unknown object.

'The young man was rushed to hospital, where he had to undergo surgery. His eye was saved, but unfortunately he has lost the sight in it.

'This is a devastating loss to a young man, who just appeared to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.'

Detectives released CCTV footage of Harrison after the attack, which happened inside Spices restaurant

However, his two-year sentence was condemned as 'appalling' by the city MP whose constituency includes the crime scene in Soho Road, Handsworth.

Khalid Mahmood challenged the judge who imposed the term to justify it to traders worried about crime.

'I’m very concerned about the length of the sentence,' he said. 'It should have been far more severe.



'This is a devastating loss to a young man, who just appeared to be in the wrong place at the wrong time' Det Con Sharon Duncan

'This shows how out of touch the judiciary is with the public.

'I would like to invite the judge to walk with me along Soho Road so he can explain this sentence to the traders and residents and discuss the crime issues they have.

'It is shocking the victim was attacked after offering to buy food.

'We are working alongside the police to fight crime and improve the area.

'That is why sentences like this, for very serious offences in the area, are particularly disappointing.'

Justice Minister Lord Faulks said: 'Crime is falling and tough sentences are available to punish criminals, including life sentences for serious violent offences.