Slashed across the face just for asking for a cigarette - violent cyclist jailed for horror attack

The victim needed a blood transfusion after he was attacked during a night out in Coventry city centre

A man needed a blood transfusion after being slashed across the face with a Stanley knife by a cyclist he had asked for a cigarette.

And when he and two friends tried to restrain attacker James Kiteley, passers-by intervened to stop them in the mistaken belief that they were the aggressors, a judge heard.

But Kiteley was traced through DNA on his hat which came off in the struggle, and at Warwick Crown Court he pleaded guilty to wounding with intent.

Because of his record for violence, Kiteley, 42, of Lentons Lane, Aldermans Green, was given an extended sentence, with a prison term of six years and eight months.

He will have to serve at least two-thirds of that period, and will then only be released before completing the whole of the sentence when the Parole Board considers it safe to do so.

And once he is released, he will be on licence for the rest of the prison term and for a further five years.

Jailing Kiteley, Judge Andrew Lockhart QC told him: “You took out a weapon, a Stanley knife, and you slashed him across his face, causing a very, very deep wound which was very long.

“You remember nothing of the carriage of a knife out on the street and its use when you were in drink.

“This was a single blow, and you were in the grip of an alcohol addiction which you are now addressing in custody.

“But you had slashed this man’s face in a vicious and unprovoked attack on an individual who has suffered life-changing injuries.

“It gives me a real and serious concern that you can remember nothing of this act. You present a real and present danger, and an on-going danger, to society.”

Anger management classes as well should be part of his sentance by the sounds of it.

Face of cyclist who slashed man's face open - just because he asked for a cigarette



Police have issued a mugshot of a cyclist who slashed a man across the face with a Stanley knife after the victim asked him for a cigarette.