A teenager needed 12 stiches after being brutally attacked on a bus by a drug dealer for refusing to buy cocaine.

The victim, 18, was talking about Coca-Cola with friends when the dealer misunderstood and tried to sell them the Class A drug, police said.

Crack and heroin dealer Shahadat Hussain, 21, was told to go away but responded by grabbing one of the victim’s friends by the neck.

When the victim stepped in to help his friend, Hussain launched a savage attack, punching him repeatedly before slashing him in the face.

The victim was taken to Whipps Cross hospital where he received 12 stitches to the "nasty" gash on his nose.

Hussain, of Malmesbury Terrace, Canning Town, was today jailed for 17 years over the assault in Romford Road, east London, on March 9 last year.

He was sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court after being found guilty of grievous bodily harm with intent.

Hussain previously admitted possession with intent to supply crack, heroin and cannabis, after being found with a “large amount” of the drugs.

Detective Chief Inspector Dave Hindmarsh, of the Met’s Roads and Transport Policing Command, said: "This was a vicious, unprovoked attack on a man who refused to buy drugs from Hussain, leaving the victim with nasty injuries as a result.

"This sentence sends a strong message that crime on London's transport network will not be tolerated."