A thug stabbed a man in the throat after he complained about drug taking on a Dundee street.
Thomas Smith, 44, was with others who were openly injecting in broad daylight on wasteground near Lochee High Street on March 6.
Jeffrey Claxton was with friends and became annoyed with what was happening.
Raging Smith went after Mr Claxton and struck him with a piece of metal from behind.
A judge heard how the 45-year-old victim was lucky to survive the attack.
Smith has now been jailed for five years and seven months after he pled guilty to an attempted murder charge at the High Court in Glasgow.
Demanded users leave the area
Mr Claxton had been walking in the busy high street with a number of friends at around 1.50pm that day.
Prosecutor John Macpherson said he spotted a group nearby, some who were “injecting themselves” with drugs.
“He approached, remonstrated with them and told them to leave the area.”
Mr Claxton continued to object before he walked off.
Smith – who had been with the drug users – raced after him and was heard to state: “F*** this”.
He stabbed Mr Claxton in the neck.
He quickly became aware he was bleeding and went to a nearby chemist for help.
The incident was caught on CCTV and by a witness who recorded it on a mobile phone.
Smith was held by others at the scene until police arrived.
He claimed to officers: “I never done it.”
Avoided longer jail term due to early plea
Mr Claxton suffered a fracture in the neck area.
He is likely to make a full recovery, although will be permanently scarred.
Smith’s lawyer said the thug had been drinking that day in the wasteground while others “abused drugs”.
Kris Gilmartin, defending, said the incident ended up “highly charged”, with Smith initially on the “periphery” before he carried out the attack.
Lord Burns told Smith – who had latterly been working for a charity – the jail term would have been seven and a half years but for the guilty plea.
He added: “There was no reason to involve yourself.
“You were armed with a potentially lethal weapon and struck the man in a vulnerable part of his body.”
