Bucknall stabbing victim Martin Hyatt: 'Adam Platt's four year jail term is disgusting'

STABBING victim Martin Hyatt has spoken of his disgust at the four year jail sentence handed out to his neighbour who stabbed him in the street.

Judge Granville Styler was considering sending Adam Platt to jail for six years.

But the sentence was reduced to four years to take into account Platt's early guilty plea.

Now 29-year-old Martin – who was stabbed four times by Platt in a neighbour dispute over his barking dogs – has hit out at the sentence.

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The father-of-six said: "The sentence he has got is disgusting.

"You keep reading about how the Government and the courts are supposed to be cracking down on knife crime. This is someone who has gone out of his house armed with a knife.

"It could have been my wife, or one of my kids, who went to talk to him." Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard this week how there had been previous arguments between Platt and Martin over the Hyatts's two dogs.

On the night in question, Platt came out into their Bucknall street and started shouting angrily.

Heather Chamberlain, prosecuting, said: "Platt was saying that they'd better get the dogs to shut up or he'd kill them. Mr Hyatt approached him and said he'd put the dogs away if he asked politely. Platt punched Mr Hyatt, and Mr Hyatt laughed at this. This provoked Platt further who threw another punch.

"Platt thrust his hand into Mr Hyatt's stomach. Mr Hyatt looked down and saw that he'd been stabbed. This had been witnessed by Mr Hyatt's 13-year-old son Jack."

It was only later that Martin realised he had also been stabbed in his side and leg.

Platt, aged 30, of Stallington Road, Blythe Bridge, was charged with wounding. The court heard Platt had no previous convictions for violent offences.

Stuart Muldoon, mitigating, said his client deeply regretted his actions.

He said: "Mr Platt is remorseful. According to the pre-sentence report he feels disgusted at what happened and struggles to explain his actions.

"He does offer his apologies to the victim for the violence that occurred. This has been his first experience of custody. He has been removed from his family, who can also be regarded as victims in that regard."

Jailing Platt, Judge Styler told the defendant: "You completely lost your temper over your neighbour's dogs on this particular night.

"I don't know if you were under the influence of alcohol, but there was some degree of premeditation as you took the knife with you.

"An aggravating feature of this case is that the offence was committed in front of children. The injuries required hospital treatment, but there doesn't seem to be any great permanent injury."

• Read more: Bucknall dad Martin Hyatt stabbed in row over barking dogs