Sunderland man stabbed friend in stomach after shopping trip to Iceland

A man who stabbed his "close friend" in the stomach when trouble flared after a shopping trip has been put behind bars.

Ian Parkin and two pals were drinking at his home after they visited Iceland in Sunderland in October 2023.

Newcastle Crown Court heard Parkin and one of the men shared four 2.5 litre bottles of white cider and started arguing.

Prosecutor Neil Pallister said the victim, who had had four or five bottles of Budweiser, stepped in to stop the trouble and suffered two stab wounds to the stomach.

Mr Pallister told the court the man Parkin was arguing with had ended up near the stairs at the property after the trouble started and added: "The defendant went into the kitchen and came walking back, aggressively.

"The complainant stood between them, thinking the defendant may be going to hurt the other man.

"At that point he felt two blows he at first thought were punches. The first was to the side of the stomach and the second to the centre of the stomach.

"The defendant shouted '**** off, get out of my flat'.

"The second impact had caused the complainant to fall to the floor, onto his knees. He then realised he was bleeding heavily, particularly from the wound to the side of his stomach.

"He screamed at the defendant 'what have you done'?"

The court heard Parkin left the flat and contacted the emergency services.

The injured man did not see the weapon that was used but said Parkin owned just one potato knife.

The court heard the victim was taken to the RVI in Newcastle and a scan showed he had some bleeding in the abdominal wall.

His wounds were cleaned before he was discharged.

Parkin, 42, of Vilette Road, Sunderland, admitted wounding with intent and has been jailed for three years.

Josh Normanton, defending, said: "The complainant was a very close friend of the defendant.

"Whatever the defendant's perspectives on what happened, his position is that he regrets this happened to his friend and is concerned about their relationship.

"He regrets the entire incident has happened."

Mr Normanton said Parkin has health problems.