A MAN who was stabbed twice in the abdomen while out with friends in Bournemouth town centre has called for courts to get tougher with people who carry knives.

Tennis instructor Paul Handford spoke out after his assailant, 19-year-old Shane Sheridan, was jailed for a total of four years by a judge at Bournemouth Crown Court.

Sheridan had admitted wounding Mr Handford with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and possessing an offensive weapon, a six-centimetre kitchen knife. He is likely to be released on licence after two years in prison.

Mr Handford, 27, said: "It's not a severe sentence. Maybe he had a hard upbringing, but if you carry a knife on a night out, there's no excuse. If people got a couple of years for just carrying a knife, they wouldn't do it."

He said his and Sheridan's friends were unknown to one another, but trouble erupted after both groups had left Elements night club.

Mr Handford admitted he threw a punch at Sheridan after being hit on the side of the head. "He was having a fight with someone else and pushed me a couple of times before I reacted. I don't think I connected with him. I'm not the sort of person that gets into trouble, but I was very much provoked.

"My friend said: You're bleeding, look mate.' I looked down and saw one of the stab wounds. I passed out."

He said one of the wounds was 6cms deep and the other around 3cms. "Doctors said several times that I had been very lucky. If the wound had been a bit deeper, it would have hit my liver."

He discharged himself from Poole Hospital the following evening and was told he would need at least three months off work. But he was back on the tennis court in five weeks and fully fit within eight weeks.

"I recovered remarkably well because I'm quite a fit and young person. The worst thing for me was being off for five weeks and not being paid. I'm self-employed and summer is the busiest time.

"I'm quite a strong person, but the first time I went out of the house, I was looking over my shoulder.

"It put me off going out into town without any doubt. This has changed me. It has made me more appreciative of life."