A man lost a pint of blood and was almost scalped when he was slashed in an unprovoked stabbing at his local pub.
Martin Bass, 30, needed 35 stitches and has been left with a life-changing scar following the attack during a "lock in" at his regular watering hole in Kent.
Sami Perfect, 19, slashed Martin down the side of his head in the completely unprovoked attack at The Prince of Wales in Rochester.
Martin had been going to the pub since he was 19.
Last March he went for a late-night drink as he had spent hours working on his dissertation.
He said: "I have known the landlord, Jim, for years and I was helping him clear up when one of a large group was trying to get somebody inside as he was closing up.
"Things started to get out of hand and then suddenly a guy got what I at first thought was a machete and started flinging it about. On about the third swing it hit me on the chin.
"It was surreal. I was not in pain, it must have been the adrenaline kick.
"I could feel the blood but there were no mirrors.
"It was only when one of the barmaids freaked out that I knew it must be bad."
Martin fainted at the bar and the next thing he remembered was being in the back of an ambulance.
He was treated at Medway Maritime Hospital and received specialist help in East Grinstead.
Martin, who worked at a building suppliers while working on his degree, took three weeks off before returning to his day-to-day life.
He said: "People gave me looks and assumed I was a fighter. Let's just say, people moved out of my way."
Perfect was jailed for four years and nine months for the attack.
Martin, who went to Maidstone Crown Court to watch the sentencing this week, said: "It was important for me to be there and see him go down.
"He showed no reaction. His solicitors said he was sorry, but I don't buy that."
The 30-year-old is now working on his Masters in analytical chemistry at Birkbeck, University of London.
He said: "I have moved on and put all this behind me."
Source: Read Full Article