A man is starting a jail sentence after knifing two men in front of a group of youngsters.

Andrew McIlvenny, 23, formerly of Fiveways Court in Chatham, pleaded not guilty to two counts of grievous bodily harm but was sentenced for both offences at Maidstone Crown Court and given a 20-month sentence.

The victims had been walking with a group of children aged 13 to 14 years old in Gillingham in June last year.

The teenagers had initially approached the two men at a junction with Cornwallis Avenue and asked them for help as someone had reportedly been shooting at them with a BB gun.

As the group walked down Greenview Walk McIlvenny appeared at a front door. One of the victims told him to stop scaring the group to which the defendant replied "go away, go away.’" He then approached the two men and, as they met, lunged at them with a knife.

The first of the two victims took evasive action but was caught in his stomach with the knife, leaving a scratch as a result. The second victim was stabbed in the left side of the neck.

McIlvenny denied shooting at the teenagers and said he did not own a BB gun. He also denied stabbing the victim and said that at no point did he have physical contact with anyone.

Lance Montgomery, the investigating officer for this case, said: “McIlvenny’s sentence means the public are safe from him.

“He acted in an aggressive and reckless way and then denied his actions in police interview. This makes him dangerous and I hope that he spends his time in prison considering his actions.

“I also hope the sentence offers some comfort to the victims who were subjected to a violent attack that could have had much more serious consequences.”