A Newton Aycliffe man is facing jail after a drunken knife attack in which a soldier nearly lost his thumb.
As reported in the Northern Echo, Liam Hall, who had been drinking and taking cocaine, held Paul Gray by the neck and produced a knife, which the complainant grabbed in an effort to protect himself.
The pair then fell to the floor during the incident at a house in Chilton, County Durham.
Mr Gray eventually escaped by climbing out of a window.
He suffered two deep wounds to his hand, one over the little finger side of his palm and the other over the side of his thumb.
A tendon in his hand, used to bend the thumb, was severed.
Hall, 24, of Honister Place in the town, had been due to go on trial at Teesside Crown Court after denying wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
But on the day of the trial and after some legal discussion a lesser charge of wounding was put to him, which he accepted.
The incident, on April 14 this year, took place when Mr Gray went to a house in Raby Terrace, Chilton, to meet a friend. He was confronted by Hall, who was present with another group of men.
Hall told police he had been drinking and taking cocaine and could not remember exactly what had happened.
Hall, who had been on bail for a separate offence at the time of the incident, was remanded in custody by Judge George Moorhouse, who also ordered a pre-sentence report on him. He is expected to be sentenced next month.
The judge told him: “This is a serious charge and the mere fact that I am asking for a report must not give you any false hopes.”
