A MAN was stabbed in the leg with a large kitchen knife by a drug-fuelled assailant ‘behaving like an animal’ who he feared would bite his nose off.

Stephen Titchener and a women accomplice attacked the victim after midnight at an address in Little Horton Lane, Bradford Crown Court heard today.

Titchener, 43, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty on the day of trial to unlawful and malicious wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm on December 10, 2020.

He was jailed for five years and three months with an extended licence period of two years. He will serve two-thirds of the custodial term behind bars before he can be considered for release.

The sentence runs concurrently with a jail term of eight and a half years he is serving in HMP Ranby imposed in September, 2021, for offences including attempted robbery.

Recorder Andrew Latimer found that Titchener was dangerous and presented a high risk of serious harm to the public.

Prosecutor Lily Wildman said the police were called to a report of a stabbing and saw the victim in the street bleeding heavily from his leg.

He said he was watching television late on December 9 when Titchener and a woman called round. He and Titchener knew one another from when they had lived in London.

Titchener made an allegation against him which he strongly denied. The defendant then ‘lost the plot’ and punched him causing immediate pain. The woman then joined in the assault.

Titchener bit his nose and he was terrified he would bite it off. He described him as ‘behaving like an animal.’ The defendant got a large kitchen knife from his waistband and lunged at him, stabbing him in the back of the leg while the woman punched him.

Titchener threatened to ‘bury him alive’ if he told the police.

He was treated in Leeds General Infirmary for the stab wound, lacerations and an injury to his nose.

Titchener had 16 offences against the person on his record, including ABH and possession of an offensive weapon.

Ian Cook said in mitigation that he was in ‘a very chaotic position’ at the time and had been on drugs since he was aged 11.

He had serious mental health problems and difficulty in coping with the side effects of his anti-psychotic medication. He had stopped taking it and was living on the streets or sofa surfing.

Titchener had earned enhanced status in prison and was taking educational courses. He now looked back on his history of serious violence with shame and regret.

He was drug free and there were encouraging signs that he could turn his life around.

Recorder Andrew Latimer said Titchener had produced a large kitchen knife and stabbed the man in the leg.

The victim thought he was going to be killed but, fortunately, the damage was not as serious as it could have been.

But Titchener had used a highly dangerous weapon to play a leading role in the prolonged and persistent assault. The offence was aggravated because he was under the influence of drugs and it was a joint attack.