Nottingham man jailed for knife attack over silly string

Marlon Nelson's victim said: "He showed total disregard to the fact my daughter was present"

A man has been jailed for slashing and threatening another man with a knife after a disagreement over silly string.

Marlon Nelson cut the man's wrist in front of his victim's 10-year-old daughter, Nottingham Crown Court heard.

It followed a "ridiculous argument" after one of Nelson's children sprayed silly string on a cash machine and the man asked the youngsters to clean it up.

Nelson, of Corporation Oaks, Nottingham, was jailed for 27 months.

The court heard he started shouting at the man outside a Post Office in Beech Avenue before taking his children home, arming himself with a knife and returning to find his victim.

The judge said: "You followed him around the shop, you pointed the knife at him and pointed it towards his throat. In the end he ended up with a defence injury to his wrist.

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"What you did was over a ridiculous argument."

He told Nelson if someone had done to that to his children, "you would want that person sent to prison".

In a victim impact statement, the man said: "I thought he was trying to kill me.

"He was shouting aggressively and coming at me with a knife.

"If I did not move away I feel he would have severely hurt me.

"Hearing my daughter screaming and crying was harrowing."

Det Con Laura McCullough, of Nottinghamshire Police, described it as a "vicious attack" and said the victim was frightened he was going to be stabbed in the stomach and neck.

Nelson, who was sentenced for wounding or inflicting grievous bodily harm without intent, was also handed a concurrent sentence of 14 months for having a bladed article in a public place.