Judges overturn sentence on Harrogate knife attacker and send him straight to jail

Court of Appeal judges overturned a suspended sentence imposed on Nathan Hackett for a drunken attack - and sent him to prison for 15 months, as a warning to other offenders.

Lord Justice Hughes, Mr Justice Treacy and Mr Justice Cranston agreed with Attorney General Dominic Grieve QC that the original sentence handed out to, 23 year-old Hackett, from Sheffield, was “unduly lenient”.

Lord Hughes said: “This offence arises as so many uncomfortably do - out of a meaningless altercation in the early hours of the morning when both parties were significantly drunk.”

The incident took place last September in Harrogate where Hackett was staying while carrying out shopfitting work in York.

Lord Hughes said it began as the sort of incident which “happens unhappily in the streets at this time of the morning all too often”.

He said nothing should have come of it, but Hackett was carrying a “very small” knife on a keyring in his trouser pocket.

During an argument with a couple in the street he “lunged” forward and struck out three times with the hand holding the knife and one of the blows struck a young waitress under the chin causing a small cut.

Lord Hughes said: “Although the injury was very slight, that was chance. It could easily have been grave disfigurement. It could have been fatal.”

He reiterated the recent words of the Lord Chief Justice Lord Judge when he warned that those who carry knives on the street and use them to injure others “must expect severe punishment without ifs or buts”.

Lord Hughes said it was the introduction of a knife into otherwise trivial arguments which could transform a “stupid and unpleasant verbal argument” into something resulting in serious injury.

At York Crown Court, Hackett was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment, suspended for two years, for an offence of wounding with intent and for carrying an offensive weapon.

He was ordered to carry out 300 hours unpaid work and also ordered to pay his victim £500 compensation and £500 prosecution costs.

Taking the genuine mitigation available to Hackett into account, said Lord Hughes, the court would have expected a sentence of two years to two-and-a-half years to have been imposed.

But because Hackett, of previous good character, was being sentenced for the second time, had carried out 139 hours of unpaid work and paid £225 compensation, the court was able to “moderate” the sentence it would have imposed.

The compensation order was reduced to the sum paid and the costs order was quashed.

Hackett must now surrender to a police station in Sheffield on Friday.