[Denver]

VIOLENT beggars “gutted” a man and left him with “life-changing injuries” because he wouldn’t give them money.

Keith Newbold was heading home from a night out with friends when he was approached by Dean Jones and his girlfriend as he went to take money out of a cashpoint at the Haymarket, in Newcastle.

Jones asked the 33-year-old for money and when he was refused he immediately became aggressive, demanding a fight.

The court heard three other men, including Sean Kelly, came round the corner and joined in the fracas.

Newbold was knocked to the ground, where he was kicked and punched.

As he tried to defend himself by curling into a ball on the floor he was stabbed six times.

The attackers stole his rucksack and bank card and left him bleeding profusely.

As Newbold, a ground worker, lay drifting in and out of consciousness, Kelly tried to use his stolen card to pay for a McDonald’s meal for the group – but it was rejected.

Newcastle Crown Court heard the victim suffered “life-changing injuries”, including three stab wounds to his abdomen, one to his arm and two to his hand.

Now Jones has been jailed for 12-and-a-half years for wounding with intent while Kelly got 14 months for handling stolen goods.

Newbold said in a victim statement: “What terrified me the most was knowing I had been stabbed but not knowing the impact of it initially.

“I just wanted to get to safety, I felt my life was in danger.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/293430...ers-newcastle/