A teenage thug who stabbed his victim six times outside a pub when he would not light his cigarette has been jailed for four years and six months.
Darren Stevenson, 18, grinned and gave his family the thumbs up as he was led away to start his sentence.
The High Court in Edinburgh heard Stevenson had been abusing Valium when he attacked Brian Hughes, who had come out of the Thistle Bar at Maryhill Road, Glasgow, to have a cigarette.
Stevenson had asked Mr Hughes, 45, a contracts manager, for a light but was told: "give me a minute I'm on the phone".
The young thug, who was on bail at the time, then lunged forward and hit Mr Hughes on the left side of his body with a knife.
He ran off after Mr Hughes' friend Patrick Donnelly, 43, punched Stevenson on the left side of his head in a bid to get him away from his pal. But the thug came back to launch a second attack - knifing Mr Hughes several times.
An unknown man who was with Stevenson had also approached the men with a claw hammer but was knocked out of the way by another Thistle Bar customer.
Mr Hughes was taken to the Western Infirmary where doctors saw he had six puncture wounds to the left side of his back. He also had a collapsed lung and internal bleeding in his chest cavity. Doctors said that without treatment the injuries were life threatening.
Stevenson, of Whitelaw Crescent, Bellshill, Lanarkshire, was originally charged with attempting to murder Mr Hughes but the Crown accepted his guilty plea to the lesser charge of assault to severe injury, permanent disfigurement and to the danger of his life. The attack happened on August 21 last year.
Defence advocate Tony Graham said Stevenson had been influenced by Valium but had accepted responsibility for the charge he faced. He added: "He cannot recall how he became involved and can offer no explanation for it."
Judge Lord Bannatyne said: "This was an unprovoked attack and involved the use of a deadly weapon, a knife. You inflicted six stab wounds which resulted in severe injury, permanent disfigurement and danger of life.
"You were on bail for a similar offence at the time and you present a high risk of causing further harm."
The judge ordered that Stevenson be on licence for two years when he has finished the detention part of his sentence. He added that the custodial sentence had been reduced from six years to reflect Stevenson's guilty plea.
