A TEENAGER who stabbed a man nine times after a row over a dog has been given four years' detention.

Dean Maskell kicked out at the pet while walking home drunk on eight pints of a cider and lager mixture.

He was punched and knocked down a bank by the dog's owner Steven Bell. But Maskell followed him into his garden in Goldthorn Road, Kidderminster, and knifed him in the chest, stomach and back.

Mr Bell, 33, recovered but still suffers flashbacks and nightmares six months after the horrific incident, said prosecutor Nicolas Cartwright.

He is being treated for depression and panic attacks by a doctor and is scared to leave his home.

Maskell, 18, of Tomkinson Drive, Kidderminster, pleaded guilty to wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm just minutes after his trial started last month.

Judge John Cavell said: "This was very serious violence involving the use of a weapon."

Mr Cartwright told Worcester Crown Court that Maskell walked past Mr Bell's home at about 11pm on August 14 last year with his shirt off. The dog began barking and worrying around his ankles.

During the attack on Mr Bell, the defendant was heard to shout "I'm going to kill you".

The victim staggered into his house afterwards and grabbed a flagpole to prevent further violence.

Mr Bell spent three days in hospital recovering from puncture wounds and needed tests for fluid on his lungs.

Stephen Blower, defending, said Maskell had stayed at a friend's house longer than expected and had drunk too much "snakebite". He had difficulty putting one foot in front of another.

He carried the knife to cut up cannabis rather than as a weapon.

Mr Blower said the dog - a terrier crossed with a pit bull - had made Maskell uneasy and Mr Bell refused to call it off.