A man has been jailed for 10 years for what has been described as a “brutal and calculated” stabbing at a block of flats in St Neots.

Stephen Miller, of Ambury Road, Huntingdon, was sentenced at Cambridge Crown Court on Friday (June 19).

The 24-year-old attacked another man with a lock knife in Dukes Road, Eaton Socon, at about 3am on Sunday, October 6, 2013.

His victim, who was 26 at the time, was left in a critical condition, having suffered life-threatening injuries, including a fractured skull, and taken to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge.

Miller was arrested shortly after the attack and originally charged with attempted murder. The charge was later downgraded to wounding with intent.

While he pleaded guilty, he disputed the facts of the case and a one-and-a-half-day trial of issue was held on Thursday (June 18) and Friday last week.

Sentencing him, Judge Jonathan Haworth concluded that Miller was dangerous and posed a high risk to members of the public.

Commenting after the sentencing, Detective Constable Chris Brown, from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit, which led the investigation, said: “Having already been involved in an altercation with the victim, Miller left the scene and armed himself with a lock knife.

“He returned moments later, requested everyone but the victim leave, then committed a brutal and calculated attack on his victim leaving him with life-threatening stab injuries and a fractured skull.”

DC Brown praised the medics who treated the victim, saying it was the immediate intervention of paramedics and hospital staff that saved his life.

He added: “The length of the custodial sentence imposed on Miller reflects the severity of the attack he carried out and level of violence he used.

“It should send a clear message that this type of brutal, sheer violence will not be tolerated.”