A pub regular has relived the horror of the night he was brutally attacked when he went to the aid of a landlord.

Martin Bass lost a pint of blood and needed 35 stitches after a yob slashed his face with a large army-style knife in the unprovoked stabbing in Rochester.

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Knifeman Sami Perfect, 19, was jailed for nearly five years for the attack which left Mr Bass with a scar on his face from the top of his head to this chin.

The attack, which happened during a "lock-in" at The Prince of Wales in Rochester, led to the closure of the pub.

Mr Bass was at Maidstone Crown Court to see Perfect sentenced to four years and nine months after admitting wounding with intent.

The 30-year-old, who lives in the same road as the pub in Cecil Road, said: “It was important for me to be there and see him go down.

“He showed no reaction. His solicitors said he was sorry, but I don’t buy that.”

Mr Bass, a local at the pub since he was 18, said he had gone for a late-night drink as a break from his computer after working for hours on a dissertation for a degree.

He said: “I have known the landlord, Jim, for years and I was helping him clear up when one of a large group was trying to get somebody inside as he was closing up.

“Things started to get out of hand and then suddenly Perfect got what I at first thought was a machete and started flinging it about. On about the third swing it hit me on the chin.

“It was surreal. I was not in pain, it must have been the adrenalin kick.

"I could feel the blood but there were no mirrors.

"It was only when one of the barmaids freaked out that I knew it must be bad.”

Mr Bass then fainted at the bar and the next thing he remembers is being in the back of an ambulance.

He was taken to Medway Maritime Hospital where a surgeon decided to stitch him up rather than wait for the following day to be transferred to a specialist unit at East Grinstead.

He said: “I was dosed up on morphine and as high as a kite. When I first saw my face it was horrific.”

Mr Bass rang his boss at Marmox UK, a specialist building suppliers in Chatham, and was told to take as much time off as possible.

But he returned the following week and three weeks later, had the stitches out.

He said: “I was told the surgeon had done a very good job. I did not get his name, but I would like to meet him and thank him personally.”

Mr Bass was determined to get back to his job and return to his studies.

He added: “I was working during the day and then going up to university. I’m sure it helped my recovery because I had something to focus on.

“People gave me looks and assumed I was a fighter. Let’s just say, people moved out of my way.”

He has since gained a degree and is now embarking on a Master’s course in analytical chemistry at Birkbeck, University of London.

He said: “I have moved on and put all this behind me.”

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