Man out
of prison on licence
stabbed
girlfriend

William Laing nearly killed Claire Dearing during the street attack in Sheffield while he was on licence after serving a three-and-a-half year sentence for wounding a man.

Recorder David Gordon said Laing, 38, presented a serious risk of causing further harm to members of the public and he will serve a minimum of six years before he can apply for parole.

Sheffield Crown Court heard Laing, who has 54 convictions for 158 offences, attacked Ms Dearing outside her home where Laing had been staying.

Miss Dearing, a recovering drug addict, became annoyed when she found drugs in her flat and believed Laing, whom she had only just met a few days before, had brought them in.

They argued and during a tussle Laing grabbed her mobile phone and went outside. She went after him to retrieve her phone and telephoned the police from a call box on London Road but failed to report the theft.

Laing watched from across the road and believed Miss Dearing had “grassed him up” to the police. He ran towards her and she felt a blow like a punch then heard a “hissing sound” and realised he had stabbed her in the neck.

The victim had the presence of mind to ask Laing to call an ambulance and he pretended to speak into a mobile but never made the call before running away, leaving her in the street.

Gasping for breath she managed to make a second call from the kiosk and the emergency services were quickly on the scene in the early hours of July 10 last year.

A knife wound in her neck had penetrated the top of her left lung and caused it to collapse. She was rushed to hospital where only swift medical intervention saved her life.

The judge told the defendant: “Fortunately both for her and you it avoided major arteries in front of her neck otherwise you would have faced a more serious charge, even murder.”

Katy Rafter, for Laing, said his upbringing was the underlying factor which contributed to his violent behaviour. The victim had been left with a scar on her neck but no other long-term physical effects.

“It was a single blow and it wasn’t a repeated assault,” she said.

Laing has convictions for assault dating back to 1991.

When arrested by police he denied the assault and claimed he had been at a friend’s house but the jury decided that was a lie.

The victim said in a statement that since being stabbed she does not go out any more, suffers sleepless nights and is on medication.

Jailing him, Recorder Gordon said Laing had shown no remorse for the victim and the risk of his further serious offending was “high.”