A man who stabbed a 50-year-old former bouncer outside a Devizes nightspot has been jailed for four years.

Lee Turner, 26, plunged a knife deep into the side of his victim during a violent fracas outside The Crown in Devizes.

Now after finding that Turner, who has a criminal record dating back to when he was 11, posed a significant risk of serious harm Judge Douglas Field has jailed him.

Sitting at Dorchester Crown Court he gave him four years for unlawful wounding, the maximum is five, with nine months concurrent for possessing a bladed article.

Turner, of Wiltshire Close, Rodbourne, was convicted following a trial at Swindon Crown Court in August.

Despite being warned he would face sentence in the Dorset town, where the judge now sits, he failed to attend the hearing last month and had to be brought in custody.

Imposing the sentence the judge said he found him a dangerous offender but would not impose an extended sentence.

Victim Tony Walker was on his way home in the early hours of Sunday, October 6, last year when he stopped to speak to former colleagues on the door of the pub.

As they chatted Turner was out on to the street having been thrown out as other drinkers and door staff thought he was being aggressive towards his girlfriend.

Footage from the CCTV at the pub, showed him threatening bouncers and aggressively ripping off his T-shirt, on the autumn night.

His girlfriend then came out and he pushed her to the ground, he said accidentally, before turning to give a final volley of abuse to the bouncers.

Seeing that, father-of-three Mr Walker said he feared an attack and stepped forward throwing a heavy punch which knocked him back into the road.

The builder then followed Turner and threw another blow before the pair grappled on the other side of New Park Street, ending up together on the ground.

Door staff stepped in to pull them apart and after getting him back to the pub found blood pouring from Mr Walker's side and arm.

When the police arrived a camouflage-print folding knife was found tucked behind a plastic gas inspection box outside a nearby house.

Turner, who was out cold for a while and had a double break to the jaw which needed pinning, was arrested and denied any wrongdoing saying he had been the victim.

He denied the weapon was his, even suggesting it may have been Mr Walker's, though he accepted he had acted 'like an idiot' after being thrown out.

The jury rejected his explanation and found him guilty of unlawful wounding and possessing the knife. He was cleared of wounding with intent to cause GBH.

Turner was still only 12 when he was first convicted of robbery, which was said to have involved a knife, in December 2000.

In August 2002 he was convicted of possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and put on an 18 month detention and training order.

Two month later he got four years for assault with intent to rob involving an imitation firearm.

In November 2005, when he was still 17, he was jailed for four years, with a four year extended licence, for three robberies and an assault with intent to rob.

He was returned to serve some of the licence after offending in 2010 and the following year went on the run after being out on day release from Erlestoke prison.

Shortly after the incident the pub closed for a £200,000 refit and is now a family-orientated establishment without late-night discos.

Mr Walker said today thought the sentence was fair.

He said: “I am just glad that it is now all over and we can draw a line under everything and get on with life.” 

Tony Walker spoke to the Gazette about the stabbing after Turner's conviction. Read the full story here