A FIGHT over a cucumber led to a man being stabbed in the face and leg and his attacker suffering a broken nose, Bradford Crown Court heard.

Imad Karim lashed out with a kitchen knife after Rabwar Hanii took the vegetable he was preparing for a meal at their shared accommodation in Southfield Lane, Great Horton, Bradford, on March 17.

The knife caught Mr Hanii in the mouth and as the pair scuffled, he was stabbed in the leg. Mr Hanii seized the weapon and snapped it in half, giving Karim a broken nose in the fight.

Karim, 21, fled to his bedroom and locked the door, the court was told on Thursday.

He told the police: “He took my cucumber and we argued.”

Karim pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding after first saying he acted in self-defence.

His barrister, Robin Frieze, said his client was an asylum seeker who had fled Iraq when Isis moved into the area where he lived.

He had been held in custody for six months after stabbing Mr Hanii and was too afraid to leave his cell at the court to face the judge.

Mr Frieze said Karim had been bullied at the shared accommodation occupied by asylum seekers.

“He is a slightly built, vulnerable and frightened young man,” he said.

Mr Hanii had been a reluctant witness in the proceedings, refusing to come back to court after the case was previously adjourned.

Jailing Karim for nine months, the Recorder of Bradford, Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC, said he was satisfied that he had been the victim of bullying at the house.

“There are two victims in this matter,” the judge said, adding he hoped the Home Office would not consider deporting Karim.