A WOULD-BE car thief who stabbed an off-duty policeman five times was jailed for 15 years yesterday.

Brett Wight, 24, of no fixed address, was cleared of the attempted murder of PC Robert Aynsley, but was found guilty of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

The officer, who works at the National Police Training Centre, in Durham City, was stabbed as he chased Wight through the Northumberland riverside village of Wylam, in May.

PC Aynsley, 34, had earlier told the jury how he feared he would die after he was stabbed twice in the chest, once in the stomach, and in the arm and leg as he tried to defend himself.

Wight had been seen by a passer-by breaking into the officer's Ford Sierra, which was parked outside his home.

Newcastle Crown Court was told that when PC Aynsley would not give up the chase, Wight snapped and launched a frenzied attack.

Judge David Hodson was told that Wight had a string of previous convictions dating back nine years, which included biting a policeman's finger in 1995.

Sentencing, the judge said the officer must have believed he would not survive the attack as he waited for an ambulance in his wife Carol's arms.

The judge said today: "He must have feared for his life and thought he was dying."

Outside court, PC Aynsley said: ''Under normal circumstances, the court would have been dealing with a murder, not attempted murder.

"It was thanks to the excellent skills of the people at the hospital who saved my life."

The injured officer has not been able to return to work since the attack.

He added: ''I hope we can return to some sort of normality now and we can move on.'