Saughall man one of two sentenced to 11 years for a stabbing in Chester

Two men have been sentenced to almost 11 years after a man was stabbed in broad daylight on a busy street in Kingsway. 

On the afternoon of Tuesday 9 April the 17-year-old local man was chased towards a car park before Lee Nimmo, aged 22, of no fixed address stabbed him in the back. 

The victim had arrived at the car park near to the Co-operative store with Ryan Salmon, aged 25, of Thomas Wedge Road in Saughall, in a grey Mazda vehicle. 

Salmon and the victim got out of the car to go to the shop while at the same time three men were seen hiding around the corner attempting to conceal their identities.

The victim and Salmon leave the store and Salmon is then seen on CCTV beckoning him over once more. 

As the victim jumps over the railings towards him he is pushed against the railings and the three men hiding around the corner run towards him brandishing weapons. 

The victim manages to run away but the men follow closely behind with Nimmo seen swinging his right arm towards him in a violent motion. 

The chasing continued across the car park onto Coniston Road towards the old Dee Miller pub until the victim lost his footing and fell to the ground where he was attacked further. 

The offenders were then interrupted by a vehicle passing by beeping its horn which caused them to stop their attack and walk away in the direction of Upton while Salmon walked back to the grey Mazda vehicle. 

The victim left the scene and was later seen by staff at Hamilton House. At 9.20pm the same day he returned to Hamilton House and was taken to the Countess of Chester Hospital where he was treated for stab wounds to his neck and his back. 

Detective Constable Heather Rowlands, of Chester Local Policing Unit, said: “This violent attack took place in a busy area in broad daylight as the public passed by and a children’s playground stood just meters away – yet this did not deter the men’s actions. 

“Had it not been for passing cars intervening by beeping their horns to deter the offenders then the victim could have received more serious, if not fatal, injuries.

“’The offenders consciously concealed a weapon and carried it on them for the purpose of causing serious harm to someone. The conviction and subsequent sentence imposed on them simply illustrates the severity of the attack and will hopefully act as a deterrent to anyone with similar thought processes.”

Lee Nimmo was found guilty of grievous bodily harm at Chester Crown Court on Friday 11 October following a four day trial. Salmon pleaded guilty to actual bodily harm on the day he was due to stand trial (Monday 7 October).

At Chester Crown Court on Wednesday 16 October Nimmo was told he will serve seven years and six months for grievous bodily harm and nine months for possession with intent to supply class B drugs. Salmon was told he will serve two years and four months for actual bodily harm.