A TEENAGE thug has been found guilty of stabbing a man during an attack in an alleyway in Basingstoke.

The 16-year-old from Basingstoke, who cannot be named for legal reasons, left his victim with a 6cm wound to his face following an assault in a passageway on January 12, this year.

Following a trial at Winchester Crown Court this week, today (Thursday) a jury found the defendant guilty of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm by a majority of 10 to 1.

He will be sentenced at the same court on July 23, with reports being prepared before a hearing can take place.

On the day of the attack, the teenager was given information on where the man was and CCTV showed him running with a “Rambo-style knife” tucked into his trousers.

He ran into the alleyway where the victim was on his way home from the One Stop shop, in Popley. The teenager had a blade in his hand and said that he was going to stab the victim.

In a video interview, the victim said: “My heart rate went up and I had to think about what I’m going to do, how am I going to get out of here.”

The trial heard that the attacker came at the man three times, with the victim kicking out to try and protect himself.

He said: “The most distance I could keep from me to him was my leg…I thought cool now kicking out is my only hope.”

The victim told the jury on the third attempt the defendant “plummeted his arm at my face”, leaving the man bleeding severely.

“He ran at me and stabbed me in the face,” the victim said in his interview. “I didn’t realise that there was a hole in my face.”

He continued: “I stood there and thought ‘what is that it’. I thought that was pointless, stab me and run away for no reason.”

The court was told that the defendant looked shocked when he stabbed the victim and then ran.

The victim said that the attack occurred after he distanced himself from the teenager and when asked why he thought it took place, he said: “To be honest [I have] no idea, I don’t know what the issue is about, I think it is just jealously”.

He also said that he thought teenager was “trying to show who is the big boss”.

The jury was told that the defendant has carried a knife since he was young because “there is a big gang culture” in his area.

The defendant denied that he intentionally injured his victim and said it was an accident, with the victim’s face connecting with the knife during a tussle.

In her summing up, Judge Susan Evans QC reminded to the jury some of the defendant’s evidence. She recalled that he said: “I wanted to confront (the victim) about why he was being a grass and things like that. I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to chat with him as I don’t really use social media.”

Defending, Audrey Archer told the jury that the knife was pulled out only when the teenager “started to feel uncomfortable and threatened”.

The teenager has already pleaded guilty to being in possession of a bladed article in a public place.