Somers Town stabber jailed for two years after attacking man with clown phobia

Jackson Brett, 20, was sent to prison for 27 months at Portsmouth Crown Court for a brutal attack on the victim, who was slashed twice with a blade before collapsing on the floor in a pool of blood.

The incident happened just before Halloween in October, 2016 when he was making his way home through Somers Town.

The court heard how he was approached by a group of people wearing costumes, including a child wearing a clown mask.

‘[He] became frightened when approached by the person wearing a clown mask, who he asked to leave him alone,’ prosecutor Matthew Lawson said.

The victim became increasingly agitated when the person behind the clown mask laughed, resulting in an altercation.

Nearby Kelly Vine then appeared and started ‘slapping the victim around the head’, telling him to ‘pick on someone his own size’, the prosecutor explained.

A phone call to her partner Brett was then made before he attended the scene with a bladed object and set upon the victim.

‘The defendant ran on to the scene and began attacking the victim, who kicked out to defend himself,’ Mr Lawson said.

‘Mr Brett kept on hitting him before stabbing him twice. He was left bleeding from his stomach and back, leading to him falling on the floor before being taken to hospital.’

The victim was left with a four-centimetre wound in his lower back and a two-centimetre slash in his stomach.

‘I’m now really nervous when I go out and am always looking around me. The incident had a major impact on me and scared me a great deal,’ his statement, read out to the court, said.

The victim also revealed he had since attempted suicide he was so depressed, while his injuries meant he was unable to undertake a new job.

The court heard how Brett, of Dunsmore Close, went home and put his clothes in the wash before police turned up.

The blade used in the attack was not found, but other weapons were discovered.

Defence barrister James Cordwell said Brett had admitted to ‘losing his temper and using a knife offensively’.

The defence also argued there was no premeditation and said he took the knife as he didn’t know who he was up against.

Brett had also since registered his apologies to the victim.

Three other people were arrested following the melee but no charges were brought. ‘Mr Brett has carried the can for the whole lot of them though he does accept he was the main culprit,’ Mr Cordwell said.

Recorder Frank Abbott handed down a 27-month sentence for unlawful wounding, with six months to run concurrently for carrying a knife, which Brett had previously pleaded guilty to.

He said: ‘By taking a knife you ran the risk that someone could have been killed.’

- we see hundreds of cases like these,’ Mr Abbott said.

‘It’s clear that others were involved but you used the knife in the overall fracas.’