A VIOLENT thug is facing jail after being convicted of stabbing a man in the neck with a broken bottle in a row over begging.

Carl Murtha, 31, and his 33-year-old victim were both sleeping rough in Newcastle city centre and were well known to each other.

On the evening of Friday, February 22, this year they got into an argument after Murtha complained the man was encroaching on his patch.

Soon the argument turned physical and both men swung punches at each other before grappling on the ground on Grainger Street

It was at this point that Murtha grabbed a broken bottle that was lying on the ground and used it to stab his victim in the back of the neck.

The attack left the man with blood pouring from a six-inch deep slash on the back of his neck that required emergency surgery.

Officers were also deployed to the scene and Murtha, of no fixed abode, was arrested. His victim has since made a full recovery.

Murtha pleaded guilty to possession of an offensive weapon and wounding with intent to commit grievous bodily harm at Newcastle Crown Court.

Following the case, his victim said: “This scared me as I genuinely believed I was going to bleed to death.”