A masked thug who brutally attacked a shopkeeper during a botched robbery attempt has been handed an extended sentence of six years and four months.
Gavin Liddell, 33, of Dundee, will serve four years and four months in prison and the two-year extended portion out on licence.
Passing sentence, Judge Lord Kinclaven told Liddell he had committed “an offence of the utmost seriousness”.
He added: “I’m satisfied the appropriate course is to impose an extended sentence because of the gravity of your offending and to provide some form of protection for the public.”
The court heard that shopkeeper Mohamed Safdar, 50, could have bled to death from the severe injuries inflicted by Liddell using a knife and length of pipe.
Despite bleeding heavily and being in considerable pain, Mr Safdar was able to pull open the shop door and bundle Liddell through the doorway and out into the street.
Liddell whose face was partly masked fled empty-handed as Mr Safdar cried for help and phoned his nephew, who was in another shop.
Solicitor advocate Jim Laverty told the High Court in Livingston his client remembered nothing about the attack and had expressed genuine remorse for what he had done.
Lord Kinclaven warned Liddell that he could be recalled to prison if he failed to comply with the terms of his licence after release.
Liddell who was high on drugs was wearing an electronic tag when he raided the Dundee licensed grocers in February after being released early from prison on a home detention curfew.
The court heard Mr Safdar was found sitting on a stool screaming in pain surrounded by a pool of blood.
A passerby, George Kane, 20, ripped open a pack of toilet rolls and used the tissue to stem the flow of blood from the shopkeeper’s neck.
Mr Safdar spent six nights in Ninewells Hospital. Liddell was traced after a taxi driver led police to his home at Ancrum Court, Whorterbank.
The court heard that he had a string of previous convictions for assault and robbery and for breaches of the Firearms Act. His last conviction, in September last year, resulted in a 12-month prison sentence.He was freed in early November, wearing an electronic tag, because of the time spent on remand.