Knife attacker of Manchester teenager jailed

A man who stabbed a teenager during a street fight in Trafford has been jailed for four and a half years.

Donald Williams, 33, of south London, was convicted of assault and possessing a blade in public, at Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court.

He stabbed a 17-year-old during a gang scuffle on Wood Lane, Partington, following the shouting of racist comments on 12 April 2009.

The court heard that the victim was with the gang but was not aggressive.

Williams, from Tooting, had been staying at a house on Walnut Road, Partington, outside which the gang had shouted racist abuse.

Some of the gang later threatened the occupants with planks of wood, said Greater Manchester Police.

Williams then went armed with a knife to find the gang and became involved in a fight, which resulted in Williams stabbing the young man in the abdomen, police said.

Speaking after the sentencing hearing, Det Con Andy Kettle said: "Williams took a knife to a fight and must have been aware he was going to seriously hurt someone if he used it.

"He went straight for a young man who was not behaving aggressively or taking part in the brawl and could easily have killed him.

"I am glad the court has imposed a lengthy prison sentence because it demonstrates that anyone who carries a knife and uses it to strike out will be punished severely."