A man who almost cut a teenager in half with a petrol-driven angle grinder was today starting a 13-year jail sentence.

Craig North, 28, of Meadow Road, Hadleigh, was found guilty of attempting to murder 17-year-old Gareth Thomas.

Chelmsford Crown Court heard how North forced his way into a flat in Southend Road, Rochford, on September 6 last year.

He then launched a brutal attack on Mr Thomas using an angle grinder, similar to a circular saw, used to cut angles into metal and concrete.

Investigating officer Det Con Ceini Bridewell said: "This was a horrendous and unprovoked attack.

"It left a wound 18in long and 4in wide on the victim's back and came close to severing the spinal cord."

She said Mr Thomas had to jump out of the first-floor window of the flat to escape from North in what she described as a "gruesome attack".

The residents of the flat - three men and a woman in their mid-20s - were so shocked by the attack on their friend they moved shortly afterwards.

During the trial, North also pleaded guilty to causing a man grievous bodily harm in a separate incident.

Published Friday, May 2, 2003

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