Leamington attacker tried to escape by climbing out of a window at Warwick Hospital after he was wanted for stabbing someone in the street

After being arrested for stabbing someone in the street, a Leamington man escaped by climbing out of a window at Warwick Hospital where he had been taken after feeling unwell.

But Matthew Cleary, who had been left unattended while a police officer went to get him a pair of slippers, was caught again within minutes, a judge at Warwick Crown Court has heard.

Cleary (27) of Ranelagh Terrace, Leamington, was jailed for a total of two years and four months after pleading guilty to wounding, perverting the course of justice, assault and escape.

Prosecutor Maninder Chaggar said that in October last year Sean Collins and a friend were walking home from a pub in the early hours of the morning when they saw Cleary as they turned into Ranelagh Terrace.

There had been bad blood between Cleary, who was with three other men, and Mr Collins going back three years.

“A fight took place between the two parties, and this defendant has then produced a knife and stabbed the complainant to the stomach, chest and thigh.”