A man shouted “Allahu Akbar” after stabbing a teenager in the back in picturesque gardens in Canterbury.

Alban Hetemi, 20, uttered the words – which mean “God is great” in Arabic – after plunging the weapon into Sayed Hossani.

The incident happened in Westgate Gardens in April as the 19-year-old victim was sitting on a park bench with friends Samir Mohammed and Kate Kennett.

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As women and children watched in horror, Albanian drug dealer Hetemi walked up to the group at 5.45pm, grabbed Ms Kennett’s hair and pulled her head aside so he could attack rival Mr Hossani.

After chasing and stabbing him, the victim said Hetemi shouted “Allahu Akbar” before telling him: “I don’t want to see you in Canterbury!”

Prosecutor Paul Valder told Canterbury Crown Court: “Mr Hossani fled for his life with the defendant in pursuit, still holding the combat knife and shouting for him to stop.

VIDEO: Man shouts 'Allahu Akbar' after stabbing teen, Ben Kennedy reports

“Mr Hossani managed to get as far as St Peter’s Street before collapsing and the defendant returned to his car, which had been parked in Pound Lane and drove away.”

The victim, who lives in Medway, called the emergency services and was taken to the William Harvey Hospital, where surgeons treated a back wound and removed two litres of blood from one of his lungs.

Mr Valder added that the knife - which had been bought in the city minutes earlier - had penetrated the chest cavity and punctured a lung, with the injuries requiring emergency surgery.

Police searching for the knifeman viewed CCTV and spotted him getting into a VW Golf and the following morning the vehicle was stopped in Clement Close, Canterbury.

Officers found a black lock knife in the vehicle which had been bought from Golding Surplus store in Canterbury for £15.

Mr Valder said: “When officers found the weapon, the defendant said words to the effect of: ‘Do you think I am the world’s dumbest criminal? Do you think that was the knife from the stabbing?’

“In fact, none of the officers had said anything about the stabbing and, as it turned out, the knife was the one used in the stabbing because the blade was blood stained.”

Police also recovered three bags of herbal cannabis in the car and forensic tests on Hetemi’s mobile phone.

Mr Valder said they found one text from a woman sent to Hetemi on the evening of the stabbing which read: “Just one dumb thing with these petty guys who messed with you”

And he replied: “What I wanted to do to him I couldn’t because he was literally running for his life.”

Oliver Saxby QC, defending, said Hetemi had been a talented footballer until injury wrecked his chances of a future in the game.

“After that his life simply went off the rails,” he added.

Today, Hetemi, from north London, was jailed for 11-and-a-half years after admitting wounding with intent, possessing a knife on two occasions, possessing drugs intending to supply them and driving while disqualified.

Judge James O'Mahony told him: "This attack was out of the blue and happened in garden grounds in the centre of Canterbury where children and members of the public were.

"This was all about drug dealing and you carried out this attack while you were on bail for breaching an ASBO."

After sentencing, investigating officer Detective Constable Keith Rochford said: "This was a clear and premeditated attack. The victim was saved due to the skill of the medical staff at William Harvey Hospital.

"Many hours of investigation were spent by officers to ensure Hetemi was brought to justice."

Detective Sergeant Stephen Rudden added: "Hetemi was a London-based drug dealer who came down to Canterbury to sell drugs.

"His actions against the victim were abhorrent. I am pleased to say the victim has fully recovered from his life-threatening injury."

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