Judge warns of 'plague of knife crime' as Scarborough man jailed for attacking neighbour with 'Rambo-style' blade

Grant Sharpe, 29, pointed the “murderous” six-inch blade at the victim’s chest during a terrifying incident on November 3 last year, York Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor Eleanor Durdy said police were called to an address on Regent Street, Scarborough, following reports that Sharpe had tried to stab the named victim.

She said the victim was outside his address, working on a motorbike, when he was confronted by Sharpe who was “walking towards him in a threatening manner, before demanding a fight”.

“The defendant ripped his shirt off, ran towards (the victim) and pushed him with both hands,” added Ms Durdy.

The victim picked up a motorcycle-chain lock to defend himself, whereupon Sharpe ran back to his house nearby and returned with a “six-inch, black-handled, Rambo-style knife”.

“(Sharpe) paced quickly towards (the victim) with a knife and pointed it towards his chest,” said Ms Durdy.

As the victim backed off and retreated towards his house, Sharpe was still pointing the blade at him.

The incident only came to an end when Sharpe’s partner and friend pulled him back into his own property.

He was arrested a short time later and was quizzed by police the following day, when he admitted there was an “altercation” with the victim but initially denied carrying a blade or threatening him.

He was charged with affray and threatening a person with a bladed article and ultimately admitted the offences.

Sharpe, of Regent Street, appeared for sentence on Thursday (August 29) knowing that jail now beckoned following a series of suspended sentences for previous serious offences including violence.

In a statement read out by the prosecution, the victim said he had problems sleeping since the incident because he feared that “Sharpe will cause further incidents”.

“I feel like I’m constantly on eggshells at home,” he added.

He had been forced to change his daily routine and avoid walking past Sharpe’s house “because I know he drinks and takes drugs at night”.

He added: “My social life has suffered. My friends no longer want to come to my address for fear of something similar happening to them.”

He said this had worsened his mental health and anxiety and affected his family life.

Ms Durdy said that Sharpe’s record comprised 28 offences dating back to 2013, including carrying a knife, affray, threatening behaviour and possessing an offensive weapon in public.

Last year he was given a 12-month suspended prison sentence for harassment and breaching a previous suspended sentence. The new offences were another breach of those suspended jail terms.

David Camidge, Sharpe’s solicitor advocate, said his client, a father-of-one, had now kicked his drug habit, although his battle with alcohol addiction was still “a work in progress”.

Judge Sean Morris condemned Sharpe for carrying a “murderous weapon and threatening somebody with it”.

He said that Sharpe’s offences “had to be placed in the context of…the plague of knife crime” currently afflicting the whole country.

He told Sharpe: “You’ve read about it; you have seen it on the television: kids stabbing each other. People need to realise how simple it is to kill someone with a knife.”

He said that Sharpe’s record showed that “you have a loose trigger” and that he had blown the chances previously given to him by the courts.

The judge added: “What on earth do you expect me to do other than to lock you up, and that is your fault. There comes a time when you need to learn a lesson.”

Sharpe was jailed for two years and one month but will only serve half of that sentence behind bars before being released on prison licence.