West Lindsey: Takeaway worker jailed for stabbing man with a vegetable knife

Mohammed Ibrahim, 25, was working at the Capri takeaway in Market Rasen when he went outside and attacked his victim, Thomas Ashbee, after he spotted him walking past.

Lincoln Crown Court heard Mr Ashbee, 19, suffered four deep wounds to his left elbow and right hand but escaped serious injury after being treated at Lincoln County Hospital.

The court heard Ibrahim believed he had been swindled by his victim during a drug deal the previous evening when he claimed Mr Ashbee had given him a bag of sugar instead of ketamine.

Passing sentence Judge Michael Heath told Ibrahim he accepted that he had not been lying in wait for his victim but he added: “There was an element of attempting to gain revenge.”

Judge Heath said: “It was a sustained attack by you on him, in the street, with a vegetable knife and you stabbed him several times.”

A witness to the attack which happened at just 5pm described how she later saw the vegetable knife bent at a 90 degree angle.

Mr Ashbee told police: “I thought he was punching me but then I felt little sharp pricks.”

He added: “I thought he can’t be stabbing me.”

His injuries included two superficial wounds to his back, two deep wounds to his left elbow, two deep wounds to his right hand and a superficial wound to the back of his head.

The court heard Mr Ashbee did not suffer any permanent injury and did not give a victim impact statement to the police after failing to keep in contact with them.

David Eager, mitigating, told the court Ibrahim’s family were in Rome and he was the only Italian speaker in Lincoln prison.

He had been working for his cousin and sending money home.

Mr Eager said the attack was not pre-planned. “He was working in the takeaway where the vegetable knife was to hand.”

Ibrahim, 25, of Alexandra Road, Cleethorpes, pleaded guilty to wounding Thomas Ashbee with intent to cause him grievous bodily harm on 17th April this year.