DANGEROUS offender Craig Naggington has been jailed for seven years after he slashed a man's arm with a machete.

The 27-year-old seriously injured Azar Iqbal near the Hope Centre, in Upper Huntbach Street, Hanley, on the afternoon of Saturday, June 13.

Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court was told yesterday Naggington, known as Naggy, pictured below, sliced Mr Iqbal's right arm after swinging the machete at him.

The victim was in hospital for four days.

Naggington, aged 27, of Dartmouth Street, Burslem, denied unlawfully and maliciously wounding Mr Iqbal, with intent to do him grievous bodily harm, but was convicted last month.

He was given the machete by co-accused Otis Fox, aged 20, of Whitehaven Drive, Birches Head, who was cleared of the same charge.

The court heard Mr Iqbal, who knew the defendants, told police the incident was linked to a previous attack on another man, Damien Miller, who was stabbed and shot at outside a Cobridge pub in January 2008.

Mr Iqbal said he had driven to Hanley with three friends in his Vauxhall Vectra hire car.

He said: "Naggy was calling me. He was shouting something. I presumed he wanted to speak to me, because why else would he be shouting me?

"I pulled up and walked across to him."

Mr Iqbal told the court he managed to calm Naggington down as much as possible when Fox arrived in a silver Vauxhall Astra.

He claimed Naggington ran over to the car and picked up a long-bladed orange machete.

He said: "It was like those you see in a meat shop. As he swung it, I put my arm up and he hit it."

The court heard Naggington has numerous previous convictions for violence.

Peter McCartney, defending, said Naggington was sorry for what he did and rang the hospital that afternoon to see how Mr Iqbal was.

Judge Paul Glenn described the attack as "appalling" and said an extended sentence was appropriate.

Sentencing, he told Naggington: "Had he not got his arm in the way I shudder to think what might have become of that man. It is not an exaggeration to say you could have killed him."