The teenager who "calmly" stabbed a helpless man in the neck after an eight-strong gang set upon him has been convicted of attempted murder.

A jury took nine hours 20 minutes to unanimously convict Jacob Cromwell, 18, of trying to kill Ashley Grainger in Ramsgate town centre last year.

Mr Grainger was knifed twice in the back causing a punctured lung, before Cromwell knelt down and stabbed him in the throat.

Cromwell did not attend today's court hearing, where Mr Grainger watched on, as his attackers were told to expect prison sentences.

Judge Simon James told the court: "My current inclination is they should be remanded in custody.

"Each of you have been convicted of serious matters and at a convenient date I will decide on your sentences.

"It is inevitable you will receive custodial sentences."

Kieran Day, 19, of Dane Crescent, Ramsgate, was convicted of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm and violent disorder.

Isaac Roberts, 19, of Chilton Lane, Ramsgate, was found guilty of violent disorder and causing actual bodily harm against Marvin McIntosh, who intervened.

Twin Joshua Roberts, 19, of the same address, was convicted of actual bodily harm, grievous bodily harm and violent disorder.

All were placed on remand and a report was ordered to investigate Cromwell's potential for statutory dangerousness.

But their friend Harry Ousley, 19, of Charlotte Square, Margate, was cleared of violent disorder.

Mr Ousley shook hands with the defendants as he left the dock, as gasps of relief could be heard from friends and family in the public gallery.

"It is inevitable you will receive custodial sentences..."

The remaining defendants remained despondent before being led to the cells.

In the three-week trial prosecutors told the jury Cromwell, of no fixed abode, knelt down and "calmly stabbed" the 26-year-old in the throat, after he had been set upon in an unprovoked attack.

"At the time of the infliction of that stab wound Ashley Grainger had just been beaten, kicked and stamped on by the group comprising the defendants," prosecutor Simon Taylor said.

"It was at that point that Mr Cromwell, moved towards Ashley Grainger and calmly stabbed him in the neck while he was laying on the floor."

The violence erupted outside United Taxis in Harbour Street on May 11 just after 3am.

In a police interview following the attack, Mr Grainger told officers: “They stopped kicking, I stood up and I discovered that I was bleeding for a while.

"I will never forget that five minute break before the ambulance came, I just had my eyes shut praying at the time."

Rushed to King’s College Hospital in London where he would stay for 11 days, surgeons battled to repair three main veins in his neck, vocal cords and a lung, the court heard.

Mr Taylor told the jury: “(The stabbing) is an act that can only have been calculated to kill - why else stab someone in the neck?”

But John Barker, for Cromwell, argued his client was not carrying a knife, did not stab, or intend to cause serious wounding to Mr Grainger.

Cromwell told the jury CCTV of him pulling a knife was in fact him playing with his belt buckle.

Four defendants have already pleaded guilty for their part in the violence, the eight defendants are expected to be sentenced together.

Jayden Cashin, 19, of Beatrice Road, Margate, admitted violent disorder and attempting to cause grievous bodily harm.

A 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, admitted violent disorder and attempting to cause grievous bodily harm. Ashley Dorsett, 19, of Inverary Court, Ramsgate, admitted violent disorder and attempting to cause grievous bodily harm.

Casey Carter, 19, of Beach Walk, Broadstairs, pleaded guilty to violent disorder.

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