A man who carried out a stabbing in a Peterborough street in the early hours of the morning has been handed more than six years behind bars.

Ricardo Viegas, 22, of Thorney Road, Eye, Peterborough, launched the attack on January 26.

A group of friends had met up in the city to buy food from a takeaway in Lincoln Road at roughly 2am, and had then headed to Searjeant Street to park up and eat.

A man they knew walked up to them and smoked a cigarette as he chatted to them for about 10 minutes.

The group were then approached by Viegas and his dad, with Viegas staring at them as they walked past.

One of the men asked if there was a problem and Viegas responded as if getting ready to fight them.

Three of the men got out of the car and Viegas then ran at them and pulled a six-inch knife out of the waistband of his trousers.

A scuffle ensued and Viegas repeatedly stabbed one of the men as he lay on the ground.

The victim’s friend shouted to Viegas to “leave it”, adding that the man he was attacking was “in a bad way”.

Viegas fled the area together with his dad.

The victim and his friends visited the hospital and, as a result of the attack, the man was left with a fractured skull, cuts to his face and left arm, and stab wounds to his chest.

Viegas was found at his girlfriend’s house just after 2pm the same day and arrested on suspicion of assault occasioning grievous bodily harm (GBH) with intent.

In police interview he answered no comment to all questions.

After suspicions he may have stabbed a second man, Viegas was later charged with two counts of assault occasioning grievous bodily harm (GBH) with intent and threatening a person with a blade in a public place.

Viegas initially denied all three offences. However, he later admitted one count of GBH on the day his trial was due to begin.

He was sentenced at Peterborough Crown Court yesterday (September 3), where he was handed a total of six years and nine months in prison.

DC Jacob Reeves, who investigated, said: “This was nothing short of a brutal attack with a completely spur of the moment and unwarranted level of violence.

“Had Viegas left the knife at home, the outcome of this case would’ve been very different.

“The injuries to the victim could have so easily been fatal and this case highlights the dangers of carrying a knife or weapon.

“Knife crime is a priority for the force and we will continue to work tirelessly to take weapons off the streets.”

If you know someone who carries a knife, please help police tackle serious street-based violence and report it to us by calling 101 or visit www.bit.ly/31UzLlN