Jail for attacker after violent street fight

A man who chased his victim armed with a knife has been jailed and banned from Worksop.

Matthew Burgess was caught on CCTV attacking his victim with a knife after a fight erupted in the middle of a street.

After hearing a commotion outside of a house, the 43-year-old ran out armed with a kitchen knife hidden behind his back before chasing his victim down Church Walk, Worksop, just after 8.30am on 14 June.

The pair then began to fight while Burgess continued to hold the knife behind his back while on top of the 29-year-old victim.

Burgess headed back into an address in Gateford Chambers, after being pulled off his victim. He was then seen to leave again before being picked up by cameras placing a small kitchen knife onto a bench and walking off.

Noticing police arriving at the scene, he ran off before being arrested days later.

Burgess, of Eastgate, Worksop, appeared at Nottingham Crown Court on Thursday 21 September, and pled guilty to possession of a bladed article in a public place.

He was jailed for 20 months and also ordered to abide by a four-year criminal behaviour order (CBO) – meaning he is unable to enter Worksop town centre and the surrounding areas unless he is attending an appointment.

PC Lee Ryan, beat manager for Worksop North West, said:

“This type of behaviour and going around armed with a knife is completely unacceptable.

“Burgess not only hurt his victim but placed totally innocent members of the public at risk by leaving a weapon out in the middle of the street for anyone to pick up.

“Thankfully, the victim did not receive any lasting injuries but just carrying a weapon can have potentially fatal consequences which is why we’ll always do everything we can to haul offenders before the courts for their crimes.

“Thanks to the hard work of the team and the Crown Prosecution Service he’ll now have to abide by a CBO when he leaves prison which we secured to keep our communities safe.

“As a force we take knife crime extremely seriously and our work is ongoing all year round to educate people about the dangers and consequences of carrying knives.”