Knifeman jailed for eight years

A knifeman who stabbed an innocent victim 10 times outside his Wolverhampton house in a case of mistaken identity has been jailed for eight years.

Robert Williams repeatedly knifed the 30-year-old in front of his helpless disabled father in their home and left him for dead after wrongly believing the victim had threatened a female friend.

Williams approached the man as he unlocked the front door of his house in Fisher Street, Penn Fields.

The 23-year-old asked him for directions but before the victim could respond he lashed out with what the victim thought was a punch.

He felt "something sharp" and realised he was being attacked with a knife.

Mr David Lees, prosecuting, said: "He felt another blow to his face and was able to run inside the house, where he fell over by his disabled father."

The victim's father was unable to help as Williams continued the attack before leaving him bleeding heavily and struggling to breathe because of a punctured lung.

Williams pulled him back into the street where the attack continued.

Williams walked to a police station, where he handed an officer a note confessing that he had "done something stupid".

He later told police he had believed the victim, who he had watched for some time, had made threats against a female friend. But a police probe confirmed that the victim and Williams' friend did not know each other.

The victim has "lost the will to live", the court heard. The left side of his face, which was slashed from temple to chin, is paralysed, he has suffered nerve damage and he can no longer blink his left eye.

Williams, of Old Fallings Lane, admitted wounding with intent following the stabbing on June 14 .

He collapsed in the dock during an earlier attempt to sentence him.

Judge Amjad Nawaz said it was "frightening" that Williams could not remember the frenzied attack.

Mr Graham Henson, defending, said Williams was "verging on the delusional at the time".

"He is a troubled man and is full of remorse."