Jail for man who slashed victim across face

A knife-wielding thug who slashed a man across the face has been jailed.

The incident began when Dale Lappin began arguing with another man in Midland Road, Derby, on 7 June, 2021.

Derby Crown Court heard that he left the scene only to return dressed in what appeared to be a stab proof vest and armed with a hunting knife.

The victim of the stabbing suffered a three-inch cut across his face as he helped the fleeing man who Lappin was attempting to assault.

Officers quickly arrived at the scene and 27-year-old Lappin was identified from CCTV and later arrested him.

Lappin, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to wounding, assault and possession of a knife at court on Tuesday, 9 November, and was jailed for 32 months.

This week the force is supporting Operation Sceptre, the national week of action to tackle knife crime.

Police teams across the county will be joining with partner agencies, speaking to young people in schools, conducting knife sweeps in public places, holding local knife surrender schemes, and holding various events and activities to highlight the dangers of knife crime.

Whilst this gives the force the opportunity to highlight some of that work, incidents such as this shows that we work year-round to reduce knife and violent crime continues across the county.

Detective Constable Qassum Hussain, said: “Knife crime is one of the real risk areas for police across the country.

“Sadly, we see on an all too regular basis the devastating effects that knives have on our communities – and the outcome of this incident could have been far different.

“He left the scene of a simple argument and came back armed with a knife and dressed in a stab vest.

“This was no heat of the moment incident - it was a calculated attack.

“The victim showed great bravery in defending the intended target during what must have been a very scary incident.

“Anyone who, like Lappin, decides to arm themselves with a knife in our county should be in doubt that the force will do all it can to find you, arrest you and bring you to justice.”