He 'turned his life around'... then 'saw red' and slashed an innocent man

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

A man with a string of convictions - who has 'turned his life around', enrolling on a counselling course as a mature student - slashed an innocent person's face with an eight-inch knife.

Paul Wilkinson 'saw red' after his laptop was taken from his room at the Parkland Hotel in Collyhurst. He burst into another room, threatening: "I want my f****** money." It isn't known who took the university-issued laptop, which went missing a few days earlier on June 11.

It contained all his work and documents. Picking up an eight-inch knife, the 41-year-old slashed the innocent victim across the face twice before leaving, prosecutor Isabella Denn-White told Manchester Crown Court. Try MEN Premium for FREE by clicking here for no ads, fun puzzles and brilliant new features. The victim recognised him from a nearby shop, but didn't know why he attacked him.

He said in a statement: "This incident made me feel very nervous and intimidated by someone I'd never met or spoken to before. "I just feel sorry for him and hope it's a lesson he has learnt." Police were called and later found Wilkinson, from Newton Heath, hiding in the bathroom in another room at the hotel.