A thug who stabbed another man after he fled from violence in a house has been jailed for six years.

Aran Grant thrust a blade into the hip of Kevin Carpenter, before running off leaving him bleeding in the street.

A judge told the 28-year-old father on Friday it had all the hallmarks of acting in excessive self-defence.

But he added: “We live in troubled times. This is knife crime at night in the street.

"It is carried out of the house into a public place, and it is used to cause serious injury.”

Maidstone Crown Court heard the violence erupted in Edenbridge in April 2016 after Grant's cousin Shannon Gilbertson and her boyfriend Aaron Carpenter-Shaw, 26, returned home from a family wake.

Grant, who was visiting his aunt's home in Hop Garden Close with his mother and sister Naomi, was verbally aggressive towards them.

Miss Gilbertson and Mr Carpenter-Shaw retreated upstairs. Miss Gilbertson made calls to police as she barricaded their bedroom door.

Kevin Carpenter arrived, having been contacted by his younger brother for help.

"This was a spontaneous act of violence in a public place. Clearly, you had been drinking..." - Judge Philip Statman

Bare-chested Grant took a knife from the kitchen and waved it around “aggressively and threateningly”.

He was chased from the house by the Carpenter brothers. When confronted by Kevin Carpenter, blows were exchanged and Grant stabbed him in the leg. The weapon was never found.

The victim, who suffered a 1.5cm wound and a fractured eye socket, was treated in a London hospital for five days.

Grant, of Thursland Road, Sidcup, denied wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, claiming he had only been armed with a spatula, but was convicted by a jury.

Prosecutor Bartholomew O'Toole had told jurors: “You may think a spatula is unlikely to cause a stab wound.”

Following conviction in August, Grant was allowed bail overnight for compassionate reasons, but then went on the run. A warrant was issued for his arrest and he was detained two-and-half months later.

His mother Sheridon Grant, of John Burns Cottages, Oxted, Surrey, denied assaulting Mr Carpenter, causing him actual bodily harm, and was acquitted.

Judge Philip Statman told Grant, who has previous convictions for violence: “I accept there was a lack of premeditation.

"This was a spontaneous act of violence in a public place. Clearly, you had been drinking.

“Having been told the jury’s verdict, you went on your toes and were at large for two-and-half months.”

James Ross, defending, said the wound was not in an area where there were veins or arteries.

“This is an exceptional set of circumstances,” he submitted. "Here we have a man running away. He was trying to put distance between him and the group attacking him.

“He had already been kicked in the head. He would have been frightened for his welfare. There were four drunk men who burst into the house and attacked him.

“His intention was that no one would catch up with him. If he had managed to run away we certainly would not be here.”

Mr Ross added: “Trouble came to the house and it resulted in tragedy all around.”

Detective Constable Chris Relf said: "Aran Grant claimed during the trial that he had merely struck his victim with an instrument he described as a ‘spatula.’

"The reality is that he has knowingly used a knife to inflict serious injury, which on another day could have quite easily proved fatal."