A thug threatened a man with a gun and viciously assaulted him.

Police were called to a report of a stabbing near The Grand Bay, Pelham Place, Crawley, on August 11.

Manuelito Andre suffered serious injuries to his arm and was taken to hospital.

The 25-year-old claimed to officers that he had approached someone about money owed to him, who then chased him and stabbed him.

However, it was found out following CCTV enquiries that before Andre was stabbed he had approached a man in his 30s, threatened him with a firearm and attacked him. It was a sustained attack lasting several minutes. He suffered minor injuries during the incident.

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While Andre was in hospital, he was arrested. He was then charged and remanded into custody.

Following an investigation into Andre’s injuries, it became clear the victim did not possess a knife until they were able to grab it while being attacked, and it was deemed to be in self-defence.

Andre pleaded guilty at Lewes Crown Court on September 12 and was subsequently sentenced at Lewes on October 25.

Andre, of no fixed address, was jailed for two years, and was ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £187.

CID Supervisor Oli Robinson said: “This was a complex investigation in which CCTV showed different events to what we were told.

“The CCTV evidence was key to Andre’s conviction. It showed how the victim was cornered into an area where he was able to grab an item to defend himself.

“Due to his behaviour, Andre is now behind bars and rightly serving his sentence.”