AN Ellesmere Port man who stabbed his victim at a Chester flat party, causing his victim to lose two litres of blood, has been handed an extended prison sentence.

Louis Richard Willis, 24, of Princes Road, pleaded guilty to wounding with intent at the flat party, which Chester Crown Court heard took place in Blacon on April 3, 2021.

Having appeared in magistrates court for that charge in October 2021, Willis then threatened the manager of the Cross Foxes pub in Boughton with a knife at the end of that month. He pleaded guilty to charges of threats with a bladed article and affray.

After a previous adjournment at Chester Crown Court, Willis appeared before court judge Simon Berkson on Wednesday, June 1, who ruled that Willis was a 'dangerous' offender who needed an extended prison sentence so the public could be protected from him.

Prosecuting, Frances Willmott said the first incident happened in the early hours of April 3, 2021, when Willis and the victim – who did not know each other – had been at an all-night get-together at a Blacon flat.

It was at 5am when Willis had become aggravated and said he was going to "smash the house". The victim told him to calm down, and there was a "scuffle on the couch".

After the scuffle, the occupier of the flat was shocked to find the victim was bleeding. It transpired that during the scuffle, Willis had grabbed a nearby knife with a 17cm blade and stabbed his victim in the abdomen, leaving a wound 4cm wide and 7.5cm deep. The knife had gone through the victim's liver, narrowly missing vital blood vessels.

The victim remembered pressure being applied on his chest, then waking up to see paramedics as he was taken to hospital.

Medical staff said the victim had lost two litres of blood from the stabbing – about 40 per cent of the blood found in a typical person.

There was also a second, superficial wound to the victim's left hand.

Willis had left the scene with the knife and discarded the knife in a bin, later recovered by police.

The victim, in a statement, said he struggled to come to terms with nearly losing his life, having felt like his "stomach was on fire".

He added he had left work because of a decline in his mental health as a result of the stabbing, and could never forgive Willis for what he did.

Willis had messaged the occupier of the flat to apologise for the incident, saying: "I am so sorry, I am so sorry." He handed himself into the police station, giving 'no comment' interviews.

While out on bail on October 30, 2021, Willis was out with a friend at the Cross Foxes pub in Boughton and both were asked to leave due to their "rowdy" behaviour.

Willis returned at 11.30pm and was apologetic and did not appear drunk, so was allowed to stay, but Willis then became "fixated" by someone he knew at the pub and tried to "stare him out", and became so agitated he was again asked to leave.

He was escorted out by the manager but continued being agitated, and punched the manager. The pub manager said: "Don't swing at me."

After five minutes, Willis walked away from the scene, but returned later, having gone to get a knife.

Willis pointed the knife at the pub manager, who had gone outside to calm his nerves, and told the pub manager: "Who is inside? Get him out."

Customers came out of the pub, but the manager told them to back away as Willis had a knife. A member of staff contacted police.

Willis threatened the pub manager, who thought he was going to die and could only think of his son.

Willis's friend arrived at the scene and dragged Willis away. The knife was discarded but later found by police, and was a kitchen knife with a 10-inch blade.

Willis had 14 previous convictions for 17 offences, mostly low-level offending such as criminal damage, being drunk and disorderly and avoiding rail fares, but there was one previous conviction from February 2017 for assault causing actual bodily harm.

Defending, Bernice Campbell said the defendant had urged her to convey his apologies to both victims, saying he had brought great shame upon himself and he truly regretted his actions.

There was a "stark difference" between how Willis behaved normally and the times when he committed the offences, when intoxicated.

At the flat party, Willis had drunk a one-litre bottle of vodka in two hours.

Judge Simon Berkson, sentencing, said the stabbing victim had believed he was going to die, and "significant force" must have been used to make the stab wound.

"He almost died – the pain was awful, his mental health has deteriorated," the judge told Willis.

While the judge accepted Willis's remorse was genuine, he added: "You very nearly killed your victim," ruling that the defendant was a dangerous offender and should receive an extended sentence.

Willis was sentenced to a total of 12 years. Of that, eight and a half years would be the custodial term, with Willis serving at least two-thirds of that in prison, before being eligible for parole. The remaining three and a half years would be an extended licence period.

The knives were to be deprived, and a 20-year restraining order preventing Willis from contacting or approaching the stabbing victim was imposed.