Camper jailed for stabbing
VIDEO DIARY SHOWS DRUNK MAN ATTACK CAMERAMAN
A WILD camping video diary turned into a hammock horror movie after the cameraman was stabbed in the leg.
The victim was one of a number of people who had gathered to sleep outdoors in woods close to Penshaw Monument, near Houghton-le-Spring.
The man was making a lighthearted video recording, in which he pretended to find a Stone Age mug, which was in fact emblazoned with the Sunderland University logo.
He then turned his attention to fellow camper Simon Muttitt, who was covered over in a hammock.
Footage shows that as the cameraman commentates, Muttitt’s hands appear and then he pulls the cover back and has a knife in his hand.
After swearing at the cameraman and telling him to stop, the 45-yearold loses his balance as the hammock collapses and tips.
That prompts laughter and Muttitt then lunges at the victim, slashing his leg open to his horror.
Now the knifeman, who caused two large gashes, has been locked up for three years at Newcastle Crown Court after he was convicted of wounding with intent.
Judge Robert Spragg told Muttitt: “He was making a video diary of what took place.
“You got into your hammock. It is clear you were drunk. He filmed it.
“During the course of it, it is clear he carried on videoing, despite you telling him to stop and telling him to go away.
“Your hammock collapsed. He found it funny, you didn’t.
“You had a knife in your hand, a knife used for bushcraft.
“You flung the knife and it caught him in the leg. You then forcibly swung the knife at his leg.”
The court heard the wild campers had been drinking around a fire before Muttitt settled in for the night in his hammock.
Muttitt, of Tatham Street, Sunderland, was convicted of wounding with intent after a trial by jury. He had previously admitted the lesser charge of unlawful wounding.
The victim’s wounds were initially dressed using wet wipes and then steri-stripped at hospital a day later, in November 2015.
The court heard the victim’s injuries healed without problems.