A PENSIONER who plunged a hunting knife into a neighbour's friend because he parked outside his house has been sentenced to six years in jail.

Frederick Alan Day, 72, of Church Close, Stoke St Gregory, lunged at the victim in an attack on January 9, leaving a nine centimetre deep wound in Brandon Luther's side.

Day pleaded not guilty to unlawfully and maliciously wounding with intent to do the victim grievous bodily harm.

During a two-day trial, the jury at Taunton Crown Court heard how parking was an ongoing issue in the street, and it all boiled over on that night.

Prosecuting, Caroline Bolt said: "Mr Day lived next door to a family called the Chandlers, in Stoke St Gregory. There had been some issue about parking, with people overlapping his driveway, for a period of some years.

"The complainant and person injured in this was Brandon Luther, who had been, until just before this, the boyfriend of Hannah Chandler.

"At around 9.45pm, Brandon Luther went to pick up some belongings from Hannah Chandler. He parked in front of the properties slightly overlapping with Mr Day's drive, intending to leave at 10pm."

At shortly after 10pm, Day saw a light was on in his neighbours' and went outside, already assuming a car would be parked in front of his home, the court heard.

He saw Mr Luther's car parked near his house and believed it was partly across the entrance to his driveway.

Day went back inside to retrieve a hunting knife, which he said he used to use for skinning rabbits, but in recent years had just become a gardening tool.

His plan, Day told the jury, was to slash Mr Luther's tyres. When Day re-emerged from the house, he met Hannah Chandler and Brandon Luther leaving next door.

Mrs Bolt added: "When Brandon was leaving, Mr Day came out and threatened to damage his car if he didn't move it.

"Day briefly went back into his garage and came out again. He continued telling him to move his car, and was being angry and aggressive.

"Brandon tried to get Hannah to go back inside.

"Mr Day continued to shout, and then lunged at Mr Luther, who felt pain in his side and realised he had been stabbed and was bleeding."

When giving evidence, the accused said: "I am sick of people parking where I park my car.

"I thought he is really not moving and he is laughing, and he really got to me, and I thrust the knife in him."

Hannah Chandler and her mum, Sue, rushed Brandon back inside, locking the door and calling the ambulance.

"Mr Luther was taken to hospital for treatment to a stab wound to his right flank, which was one centimetre long and nine centimetres deep," added Mrs Bolt.

"He suffered significant bleeding from an artery behind his kidney, and the bleeding was so severe it had begun to displace the organs.

To stop the bleeding, a number of coils had to be inserted into Mr Luther's artery, effectively cutting it off and stopping the blood flow and causing it to atrophy.

He was in hospital for a week, and then spent a further two weeks off work, before he went back on light duties.

Day pleaded guilty to GBH, which has a minimum prison sentence of one year.

However, he was put on trial for wounding with intent - a charge which saw him potentially face nine years behind bars.

The difference between the two charges is whether Day intended to inflict serious damage on the victim in his actions - something he admitted when giving evidence.

Summarising the trial, judge David Ticehurst said: "Mr Day stabbed Mr Luther with a knife causing him serious injury.

"He accepts he did so and is sorry.

"That is the only thing to decide in this case - if Day meant to cause Brandon Luther serious injury."

Day seemed to have sealed his own fate when he said: "I took the knife from my back pocket and I intended to stick him. I intended to stab him and cause him serious injury."

The jury considered the result for just 20 minutes before returning a unanimous guilty verdict.

Emma Martin, representing Day, said: "His sympathies are with Brandon Luther and the Chandler family, but he is also devastated by the harm caused to his nearest and dearest.

"He knows the only person responsible and to blame for this is him.

"His troubled upbringing has clearly left a deep scar in him. In his own words 'all the medication in the world cannot take away memories'.

"He has a wife of more than 50 years and three daughters. Not all the neighbours viewed him in the same way the Chandlers did and were willing to support him."

Day was sentenced to six years in prison. With good behaviour he could be released after three years.

He was also given a £170 victim surcharge and a restraining order not to contact Brandon Luther, or the Chandler family for 10 years.

Sentencing, Judge Ticehurst said: "For a period of several years, I am in no doubt you made your neighbours' lives a misery.

"Your obsession with parking outside your house culminated in the attack on Brandon Luther, where you deliberately equipped yourself with a knife.

"You could have killed him, and would be standing there facing a sentence of life in prison for murder.

"Even one of your own friends said 'if you know someone has a short fuse, it is better not to aggravate them further', but people with short fuses should know how to behave and control themselves, and not stab someone because of where they are parking."