A dispute over a game of pool led to an offender using a bread knife to repeatedly stab another man.

Sergej Kiseliov repetitively stabbed the victim at the flat they shared in Northfleet High Street, after he was told he could not play pool with them at a nearby pub in October 2018.

The Lithuanian fled Northfleet after facing an attempted murder charge but returned to face justice.

Before he could be charged Kiseliov disappeared from the scene and was later traced 1200 miles away in the Baltic state.

But after hearing there was an arrest warrant issued, he handed himself in to police and was extradited.

The trial for attempting to murder Edgars Petrovs in October 2017 was due to start this week at Maidstone Crown Court.

Judge Philip John Stevens heard that none of the six prosecution witnesses – including the victim – turned up for the hearing.

After legal discussion, prosecutor Don Ramble accepted a plea to inflicting grievous harm after reviewing a pathologist's report which said the wounds were consistent with Kiseliov's account.

The judge ordered not guilty verdicts be recorded on the attempted murder and causing grievous bodily harm with intent charges.

Kiseliov, 21, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm without intent and was sentenced to 14 months imprisonment on Tuesday.

The court heard the assault took place on the evening on October 16, following a night of socialising between Kiseliov and a number of men he was living with – including the victim.

The men were living at a flat in Northfleet High Street and had spent the night talking and drinking together.

At around 10pm the victim and another housemate visited a nearby pub in Rose Street.

Kiseliov followed around an hour later and became angry when he was initially refused service due to the premises being about to close.

After he was given two unopened bottles of beer, for consumption off the premises, he approached the victim who was playing pool with his other housemate.

He grabbed the cue from the victim but was told he could not join in and moments later a member of bar staff told him to leave the venue.

Kiseliov waited for the victim to return home and an altercation took place, during which Kiseliov assaulted his housemate with a bread knife in the kitchen, causing multiple stab wounds.

Defence barrister Neil Guest said Kiseliov pleaded guilty to causing the non-life threatening wounds with a bread knife after he was attacked first.

"Kiseliov’s decision to seriously assault a man over an issue as trivial as a game of pool show him to be an extremely dangerous and violent individual..." - PC Nick Shaw

He told the judge that Kiseliov, who has spent the past five months in prison awaiting trial, had used “excessive self defence”.

“He was trying to protect himself," he added.

He said he fled the UK not to escape justice but because of fears of retribution after the stabbing of martial arts expert Mr Petrovs.

“He went because of self preservation and feared retribution would come down on him very hard.

"Mr Petrovs, who is bigger and older than the defendant, had bullied him for some time, “ said Mr Guest.

Police Constable Nick Shaw, the investigating officer on the case for Kent Police, said: "Kiseliov’s decision to seriously assault a man over an issue as trivial as a game of pool show him to be an extremely dangerous and violent individual.

"His decision to use a knife to repeatedly wound the victim only aggravates the offence and I am pleased that we have been able to secure a custodial sentence.

"We have zero tolerance for those who choose to use a knife as a weapon and I am pleased that our investigation was able to have Kiseliov detained overseas and brought back to the UK to face justice."

To read more of our in depth coverage of all of the major trials coming out of crown and magistrates' courts across the county, click here.

Read more: All the latest news from Gravesend