Two men from Croydon have been jailed after a stabbing in Gravesend last year.

On Wednesday March 18, Croydon man Lemuel Lee, 20, was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment for wounding with intent.

Meshack Noel, 26, was found guilty of perverting the course of justice (namely disposal of the knife used by Lee) and witness intimidation.

The stabbing happened at a flat in Gravesend Court on June 21 after Lee and Noel travelled there the previous day "in order for Noel to supply drugs" a Kent Police spokesperson described.

"A number of people were inside the property when Noel became involved in an altercation with a woman who claimed he had taken her phone charger.

"He pushed her against a wall and grabbed her by the throat.

"When the victim attempted to intervene Lee jumped up from a sofa and stabbed him twice with a large kitchen knife, causing injuries to his heart and liver.

"Both suspects fled the scene leaving the victim with life threatening injuries.

"He was airlifted to a London hospital, where he survived after emergency surgery."

Lee and Noel were arrested later that day, after Kent and Essex police investigated what happened.

The court heard that later, Noel visited the home of a key witness threatening her not to give evidence, leaving a note warning ‘snitches get stitches’.

Detective Constable Angela Cann of the Major Crime Unit described the attack as "shocking and brutal" in her comments after the sentencing.

"This was a shocking and brutal assault and one which would have also caused great alarm and distress to those who witnessed it.

"The attack was unprovoked and could have quite easily had fatal consequences. Lee is now rightly facing a substantial prison sentence.

"Noel also played a significant role in this incident.

"His actions in initially assaulting the woman and then trying to intimidate this witness into retracting her statement, in addition to discarding key evidence, are yet further proof of the contempt both Lee and Noel have for the law," she said.