Chesterfield man who was stabbed by stranger in takeaway says perpetrator's jail sentence is not '˜acceptable'

Jake Lee, 25, who works for the ambulance service, was stabbed in his back while inside the Chicken Shop food outlet on Division Street in Sheffield city centre after a night out last November.

The perpetrator, Zak Pywell, 23, who was high on alcohol and cocaine, also stabbed another stranger after attacking Jake. Pywell was sentenced to four years and three months on Monday after admitting the charges at Sheffield Crown Court.

“He is behind bars but at the end of the day he has gone on to stab someone else as well,” Jake said. “I cannot really say four years and three months is acceptable.”

Jake, an emergency medical technician, was taken to hospital and underwent surgery and has gone on to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. He has been left with permanent scarring and is ‘on edge’ when he goes out.

Recalling the incident, he said: “After the night out we went to the Chicken Shop in Sheffield where I was punched quite a few times as I got through the door. “As I got back up I was stabbed as I was on the floor. I did not realise I had been stabbed. There was a lot of blood all over the Chicken Shop floor.”

Jake said that he still suffers flashbacks and is always wary of who is around him now.

Shortly after returning to work, Jake actually attended a stabbing in a takeaway which brought the events of that night on November 9 flooding back.

Pywell, of Birley Spa Lane, Hackenthorpe, Sheffield, admitted an offence of affray and pleaded guilty to the offences concerning wounding and possession of a weapon on the day of his trial. Sentencing Pywell, Judge Sarah Wright, told him: “You carried a knife, when going out socially in the city centre. Not only did you carry it, but you used it on two victims. The results for them, and everyone else involved, have been catastrophic.”