A THUG who brutally stabbed a Blackpool theatre-goer has been jailed.
Adam Morgan attacked the woman as she left a dance show at the Winter Gardens, stabbing her in the chest while in a “drunken rage”.
The 21-year-old, of The Promenade, Blackpool, was jailed for six years by a judge at Preston Crown Court yesterday.
The court heard how Morgan’s 48-year-old victim was walking away from the town centre venue – where she had watched her daughter’s boyfriend in a performance of The Champions of Tomorrow dance show – when she initially felt someone bang into her.
Jacob Dyer, prosecuting, described how the woman collapsed to the floor in severe pain and was “scared she might die” after realising she had been stabbed in the attack, which came “out of the blue” on January 8.
Morgan had already slashed his partner’s tyres in a drunken rage before attacking the woman, and defence barrister Chirs Hudson described it as a “random, motiveless attack”.
He said: “There was a combination of rage as a result of domestic problems, compounded by the monstrously excessive consumption of drink and stupidity.
“The effect on the victim must have been devastating and must continue to be so.
“There can be virtually no worse offence than to be stabbed in the street with a terrible weapon, with terrible consequences.
“The defendant acknowledges the enormity of what he has done. He wants to live the rest of his life as a decent member of society.”
The woman had to be taken to Blackpool Victoria Hospital after suffering a four centimetre long wound to the side of her chest wall. She has suffered stress and anxiety since the attack.
Jailing Morgan for six years with a further four years on licence, Judge Jonathan Gibson said the consequences of his actions could have been fatal.
Det Sgt Steve Colman, from Blackpool Police, said: “The victim is happy with the sentence and she just wants to get on with her life. It was a horrible incident and one that is particularly rare, where a law-abiding member of the public gets randomly stabbed.
“The sentencing reflects the serious nature of the offence.”