A TEENAGER stabbed a young man on Christmas Eve leaving him in hospital for two days.

Jordan Novis, 19, thrust a knife into the torso of the man, who then managed to run back to his house where he was treated by paramedics.

He was taken to the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton where he stayed for two days before being discharged.

A police investigation found that the two men “were known to each other prior to the incident” which happened in Millberg Road, Seaford, at about 9.30am.

Detective Constable Paul Kelly, of the Eastbourne Investigations Team, said: “The fact that Novis used that weapon to attack another person makes it all the more serious.

“It can take a single stab wound to cause fatal injuries, and the victim is extremely fortunate in this case not to have sustained more significant injuries.

“There is no place for knife crime in our country, and anyone caught offending will be dealt with swiftly and robustly.”

Sussex Polcie named Novis, unemployed, previously of Sutton Avenue, Seaford, as the suspect, and he handed himself in to police on December 27. The knife was never recovered.

He originally denied possessing a knife in public and committing grievous bodily harm with intent, claiming he acted in self-defence. But, he later changed his plea to guilty.

Novis was sentenced at Lewes Crown Court on April 8 to six years’ detention in a Young Offender Institution and was also ordered to pay a £170 victim surcharge.

DC Kelly said: “This conviction sends a clear message that carrying a knife in a public place is a serious offence which will not be tolerated on the streets of Sussex – or anywhere else in the UK for that matter.