A KNIFEMAN who stabbed his victim in the stomach at a castle when he was attacked has been jailed.

Scott Chamberlain, 24, put Ioan Phillips in intensive care after he plunged a lock knife into his abdomen at Caerphilly Castle.

Cardiff Crown Court heard how the defendant lost part of his right ear when the complainant and another man assaulted him during a fight.

Prosecutor Nigel Fryer said: “Ioan Phillips was with a group of friends in the grounds of Caerphilly Castle at around 8.50pm on Thursday, May 28.

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“He was with a group of about five men and they had all been drinking. Mr Chamberlain was not known to Mr Phillips or his friends.

“There was a conversation between the two groups and there was no animosity.

“However, after 30 minutes, matters appeared to escalate after an argument about where Mr Chamberlain’s bag had gone and there was an altercation.

“Mr Chamberlain was assaulted and he produced a knife from his bag. He said it was his intention to scare those around him but a further confrontation ensued.

“He was brandishing the knife in a reckless manner and Mr Phillips was wounded. It was a single wound.”

Mr Fryer said the victim suffered a stab wound to the abdomen and was rushed to Cardiff’s University of Wales Hospital where he spent three days in intensive care.

Chamberlain, of Nantgarw Road, Caerphilly, pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding and possession of a bladed article.

The defendant had 15 previous convictions for 19 offences, including a long history of violence and possession of a knife in 2018.

Laurence Jones, representing Chamberlain, said: “His best mitigation is his guilty plea. He is 24 now and has struggled for a long time with mental health issues.

“Since being in custody, he has missed the birth of his first child. It is something he deeply, deeply regrets.

“The defendant suffered significant injury himself that night. He lost the back part of his ear and sustained significant facial injuries and needed hospital treatment.

“He has been left permanently disfigured.”

The judge, Recorder Paul Lewis QC, said Mr Phillips and another man had attacked Chamberlain that night but told the defendant: “It was a potentially lethal weapon you had in your possession that day.”

He was jailed for two years and eight months.