Stab victim jailed after being caught carrying blade himself

Police had gone to Tescos in South Shields, in the early hours of May 29 after a report that a man had been stabbed and found Jack Murray with a knife wound.

Newcastle Crown Court heard after Murray was taken by ambulance to the Royal Victoria Infirmary for treatment, officers found a lock knife in a bag among his possessions.

Prosecutor Michael Bunch told the court it was understood the stabbing had happened outside a former pub some distance away from the supermarket but Murray was found injured by officers at Tescos.

He made no formal complaint over the attack and nobody has been arrested for it.

Murray, 21, of Hexham Avenue, Hebburn, admitted having a bladed article in relation to the lock knife.

The court heard he was on a community order for knife possession at the time.

Mr Recorder David Gordon sentenced him to 146 days behind bars.

The judge said: "Knife possession is an extremely serious offence, one increasingly prevalent, common and is a very considerable concern to people up and down this country.

"People arming themselves with knives, carrying knives in public places has become, if not an epidemic, an extremely common, worrying, occurrence.

"This offending and its circumstances are so serious the only appropriate punishment is one of immediate custody."

Nick Lane, defending, said Murray is a "vulnerable" person with complex mental health issues and was unlikely to have used the knife.

Mr Lane said: "The evidence of the police officer is the knife was recovered from his bag after he himself had been the victim of a stabbing."

The court heard Murray has cut down his alcohol consumption since the offence and engaged with health professionals.

Mr Lane added: "I ask he be given the opportunity to show that, as a young man, he can make changes."