A 22-year-old man was today sentenced to four years in prison for causing grievous bodily harm after an incident in Oxford where a student was stabbed.

Ben Hepburn, of Spooner Close, East Oxford, was given the sentence after he admitted to stabbing a student in Cowley Road on October 14.

Det Con Rob Barratt said: “Hepburn’s offence was a very serious one in which the victim could have easily died.

“However in sentencing him the Judge has taken into consideration Hepburn’s previous good character, together with the fact that the victim is making a quick and full recovery.

“That said he is now paying a heavy price for arming himself with a knife after falling into a world of drug dealing.

“This incident has been quick to make its way through the courts, and that is a testament to the amount of work and time spent by police building the case.

“In the end it would have been very difficult for Hepburn to give any other plea than guilty.

“In conducting this investigation, Thames Valley Police has demonstrated that knife crime is something that will be dealt with very seriously and I would encourage people think twice before going out with a knife.”