They played a game of pool... and he became 'hell bent on revenge' - soon people were begging him to stop

A man was stabbed in the face following a game of pool in the pub. The victim was repeatedly slashed by Ryan Povey while horrified onlookers begged him to stop.

The Liverpool Echo reports that the incident started with some "back and forth banter" but quickly turned into drunken violence.

Liverpool Crown Court heard yesterday that Povey and Michael Toal were among a group who were out in Rock Ferry, Wirral, on the evening of August 17 this year, having known one another "through mutual friends for around 15 years". By the early hours of August 18, both were present in the Derby Arms pub on Nelson Road.

Matthew Dunford, prosecuting, described how the defendant, of King Street in Rock Ferry, was "making fun of" the complainant, adding: "Although it appeared to be back and forth banter, Mr Toal was aware that the defendant was becoming increasingly worked up. Things began to escalate."

The two men then began "scuffling" before being "quickly separated", with Povey being pushed towards the door. As he left the premises, the 33-year-old was heard to threaten that he was "going to get a knife".

When Mr Toal later exited the pub, he found his assailant shouting and running towards him with such a weapon. Povey then swung the blade at him, striking him in the face.

This was followed up by several more swinging attempts with the knife as onlookers "screamed for him to stop" and tried to intervene. The attacker then left the scene after throwing the instrument, later being recovered by the pub's manager and found to have a 17cm blade, onto the pavement.

Mr Toal was subsequently taken to Arrowe Park Hospital by his partner and was found to have suffered a three-inch laceration to his nose and lip. Povey was arrested at his home