A RHOOSE man has been locked up for seven years after stabbing a teenager.

Iestyn Raven, 18, pleaded guilty to wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm.

He was sentenced to seven years in a young offender institution at Cardiff Crown Court last week.

The court heard Raven assaulted a 17-year-old boy with a baseball bat and a knife on Wordsworth Avenue in Penarth on Wednesday, April 11.

The victim suffered a wound to the side of his head, a stab wound to his lower back which resulted in a punctured lung, a shallow stab wound to his upper back and a broken jaw which required surgery. The court heard the victim and the defendant - who was wearing a black balaclava during the attack - were known to each other.

In personal statement read out in court, the victim, now 18, said the incident was terrifying, and he thinks about it every day.

He said: “I have had problems sleeping since this attack as I keep thinking about what happened to me and that I could have died.”

He added: “I have to live with what he did to me and I don’t think I’ll ever be the same.”

Detective constable Matthew Lea, officer in the case, said: “This was a serious assault which could have easily led to the victim losing his life.

“Knife crime is unacceptable. Carrying a knife is a crime, even without using it, and will result in prosecution.

“If someone you know carries a knife, they should be made to think about what they are doing and what the consequences are.

“We would urge anyone who is concerned for someone involved in knife crime, to contact your local police via 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”