by Keith Hunt

A dangerous thug who left a man with terrible injuries in a drunken knife attack has been locked up indefinitely after he was convicted of attempted murder.

William Wilson will serve six years in jail before the parole board considers whether it is safe to release him.

As well as being stabbed in his stomach, left thigh and left wrist, Michael Brankley, 25, was disfigured with a 17cm scar from his hairline to his top lip.

A judge said Wilson, 28, used the knife to almost deadly effect and had no doubt he "today and for the foreseeable future presents a risk of serious harm".

A jury of seven women and five men delivered a unanimous verdict.

Maidstone Crown Court heard how Mr Brankley's face was "virtually cut open" in the attack.

Both men had been out drinking at pubs in Dover last summer. Wilson claimed he had drunk up to 15 pints of beer.

An argument broke out between Wilson and Mr Brankley in the early hours of July 31. Jonathan Higgs, prosecuting, said it seemed to be "an ordinary fight you might expect in Dover at 2.20am".

But Wilson was armed with a knife and in a frantic few seconds caused severe injuries to Mr Brankley. "He used the knife to devastating effect on Mr Brankley," said Mr Higgs.

He fled and disappeared until his arrest in Hastings in November.

Wilson, of St Leonards-on-Sea, Sussex, denied attempted murder and an alternative charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent. He admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm.