A 21-year-old with a 'desire to dominate through violence' cornered and stabbed a man in a city bus shelter in a late-night attack, a court heard.

Munsey Varnadore also slashed at the face of another man, who evaded the blade and escaped from the confrontation on Castle Meadow.

Varnadore, of St Edmundsbury Road, King's Lynn, was convicted at a previous hearing of wounding with intent after Aaron Goffin was stabbed in the arm at the bus shelter.

The court heard Mr Goffin was backed into a bus shelter where he ducked, but was stabbed in his upper bicep by Varnadore, leaving him with a three-inch gash.

The victims were walking along the street with a third friend in Castle Meadow during the early hours of Sunday July 30 when they were approached by Varnadore and an argument took place.

Varnadore threatened the group with a knife and, as they walked away, he then swung the knife towards one of the men and stabbed another in the arm before running off.

Yamana Partridge dodged the blade, which was described as being "two to three inches in length" at Norwich Crown Court on Thursday. A third man, Conor Gooch, also fled the scene with Mr Partridge.

Sentencing, Judge Maureen Bacon said Varnadore had "an obvious lack of empathy for others and a desire to dominate through violence". She added: "You wanted to provoke a reaction, which may stem from the neglect you suffered as a child."

Varnadore's representative Abdul Kapadia applied for a psychiatric assessment for his client, who he said was keen to engage with mental health services, but the application was denied by Judge Bacon, who said she would not allow the defendant to "hijack the proceedings further".

She told the court Varnadore had delayed the trial by a day after claiming to have been ill, but was later discovered to have been in the gym, which she described as "an indulgence".

Mr Kapadia, mitigating, said Varnadore had been in care since he was six and had a difficult relationship with his mother, and had struggled to adjust to the "lack of emotional support" after his grandmother died.

Varnadore was given an eight-year prison sentence, of which he will serve four years in custody.