Thug stabbed cyclist over stolen bike as he lay defenceless on the ground

A thug stabbed a defenceless cyclist in the back in a row over a stolen bike, a court heard . The victim was rammed off the bike by a BMW before Reece Lowndes jumped out of the passenger seat and delivered a flying kick which sent him to the ground.

Lowndes then plunged a blade into the victim's back as he lay defenceless on the floor, only narrowly missing one of his organs, the Liverpool Echo reports.

It had been previously reported in 2021 that a then teenage Lowndes ran through the streets of St Helens waving a seven-inch kitchen knife as he was pursued by the police following reports from concerned members of the public. Liverpool Crown Court heard on this occasion that a female PC eventually caught up with the 19-year-old but was punched in the face and knocked to the ground.

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Zahra Baqri, appearing for the prosecution, described how Lowndes then dropped the weapon before jumping 10 to 15ft from a bridge onto waste ground below. Despite his efforts to escape, he was arrested at the scene.

Louise McCloskey, representing Lowndes, said there were "clear concerns about substance misuse" regarding her client. She said: "If these two factors are addressed, the alcohol and the drug use, that reduces this young man's risk of harm to the public."

Lowndes, then of Derbyshire Hill Road in St Helens, pleaded guilty to assaulting an emergency worker and possession of a bladed article in a public place. He was locked up for a year.

Recorder Simon Parrington told him: "Your personal protection was not a reasonable excuse. Whatever you thought at the time, it is not a reasonable excuse."

The same court then heard last week that a man called James Gregory was