A TEENAGER wept as he was jailed for three years for an attempted robbery in which a former friend was left injured by a kitchen knife.

Taurean Harte, 18, told police he had gone to the victim’s bedsit in Richmond, North Yorkshire, in order to “tax” him for cannabis.

After entering the man’s Bargate home, he went into the kitchen and armed himself with an eight inch kitchen knife and proceeded to stab the back of a sofa.

He then demanded money while brandishing the knife, holding it to the victim’s neck.

The victim, a former friend, grabbed the knife, injuring himself in the process and causing severe bleeding to his hand.

Teesside Crown Court heard the man’s injuries – he suffered tendon and nerve damage - scuppered his hopes of joining the Army and becoming a member of its boxing team.

Prosecutor Peter Sabiston said the terrifying ordeal on December 26 last year ended when Harte stopped the attack having “clearly thought better of it”.

However he left the flat saying: “If you tell anybody I will kill you.”

Harte, who admitted attempted robbery, told police he had grappled with the victim and punched him a couple of times.

Interviewed, he said: “I wish I had never done it, but I did.”

The victim said he now had trouble sleeping and no longer left his home to socialise.

In a statement he said: “I still cannot believe this happened especially from someone I knew and it was totally unexpected.”

Chris Smith, for Harte, of no fixed address, but who had previously lived in Hartlepool, said he suffered from chronic instability and had a history of violent tendencies and abusing alcohol.

However, he said he had shown real insight and remorse over his offending and had made “marked progress” since being remanded into custody at the start of the year.

Judge Howard Crowson said he was impressed with a letter Harte had written him and described him as an intelligent young man.

The judge said there were reasons to believe Harte was making steps towards being a better person.

But he said a robbery in someone’s own home could only merit custody.

He also rejected pleas that the sentence be deferred, giving Harte three years in a young offenders institution.