A man was stabbed five times in the legs and had several teeth knocked out after being attacked in a street blighted by drugs and violence.

The victim was ambushed by two separate gangs and left with serious injuries following the brutal assaults outside a convenience store in Peacock Street, Gravesend.

Residents in the street have previously told how they were “living in fear” amid a rising tide of criminal activity.

Now, details of the drug-related beatings in June 2020 have emerged after a man was jailed for the part he played.

Edison Kaculi, 28, was seen on CCTV arriving in Peacock Street in a black Audi with two other men.

He pushed the victim from his bicycle before repeatedly punching and kicking him.

The gang eventually fled in the same car, leaving the injured man beaten and bloodied.

Within minutes a second car pulled up and three different men continued the attack.

The victim told officers afterwards that two mobile phones and £300 cash were stolen from him.

A woman living in nearby Alpha House spoke to KentOnline at the time of the attacks.

“At about 8.45pm I got a phone call from my neighbour,” she said.

“"She had got in from work and walked in the hallway to find this guy with blood everywhere being attended to.

"He was in his 20s or early 30s. Another neighbour had seen this guy standing talking to a lady - she could see that he had a knife coming out of his leg and his tracksuit was filling up with blood.

“The neighbour went running down to speak to the guy - he was swaying and his teeth had been knocked out.

"All of a sudden this masked gang came running over, literally over the top of cars, and started beating the guy that had been stabbed. He had already been stabbed and was being beaten up.

"He was very shaken up by it. All of us were. A neighbour that lives at the top of the block had gone out and dragged this person into our hallway.

"People were out screaming and shouting. I think he was stabbed further up the road and made his way down to us.

"All of a sudden this masked gang came running over, literally over the top of cars, and started beating the guy that had been stabbed..."

"Obviously it was horrible for him but it wasn't nice the following morning seeing blood up the walls - we had to call the police again to try and clean it."

Four men were quickly arrested and charged in relation to the attacks and jailed for a total of nine years between them following a trial in December 2021.

Kaculi was identified as also being responsible but could not be found by police.

He was eventually arrested on December 7, 2021 after abandoning a car that failed to stop for patrols in Gravesend.

He denied being responsible for the stabbing, but pleaded guilty to attempting to wound with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

He appeared for sentence at Maidstone Crown Court on June 29 and was jailed for two-and-a-half years.

DC Dan Bister, of the Chief Constable’s Crime Squad, said: "This was an appalling attack in front of terrified members of the public that was the cause of great concern among members of the community at the time.

“Edison Kaculi and the others involved in the incident did not appear to care whether their victim lived or died but can count themselves very lucky that he survived, despite suffering some very serious injuries that could have quite easily claimed his life.

“There is absolutely no place for this or any other level of violence in Kent and we do not rest until those responsible are arrested and brought to justice. As Kaculi discovered, there is no hiding place from the law and we do not forget about people like him or commit such serious offences in our county.”