by Wilma Riley

A KNIFE thug who stabbed a man five times in revenge for an earlier assault on his brother was today jailed for five years and two months.

Stephen Campbell, 47, from Yoker, Glasgow, admitted knifing Kevin O'Neill on the head and body to the danger of his life on June 4, last year, at West Court, Dalmuir.

He was originally charged with attempted murder, by his guilty plea to the reduced charge was accepted by the Crown.

The High Court in Glasgow heard that Campbell grabbed a knife after four men tried to burst into the flat he was visiting.

In a confrontation in the stairwell of the high rise block Campbell stabbed Mr O'Neill, leaving a large kitchen knife sticking out his back.

As Mr O'Neill who helped out of the block of flats by a friend, Campbell told them: “That's for getting my brother..”

Mr O'Neill told police he did not want to identify who was responsible for the brutal knife attack.

However, police suspected that Campbell was involved and when his denims were examined blood spots were found on the front of both legs. Mr O'Neill's DNA was found when the blood was forensically examined.

Prosecutor Angela Gray said: “The complainer had two wounds to his head, two to his back and a fifth wound at the top of the right side of his pelvis. Consultant Timothy Parkes was of the opinion that the injuries suggested a significant threat to life and that significant force would be required.”

Defence counsel Thomas Ross said: “There was significant provocation from the complainer and his associates. Trouble came to Mr Campbell, he didn't go looking for it.

“The group came to the door of the flat he was in and bottles were brandished and Mr Campbell was struck. It was after this that he went and got the knife. His last conviction for violence is 20 years ago.”

Campbell was jailed by Judge Lord Burns.