A MAN jumped and waved weapons around in ‘celebration’ after stabbing a man in the back four times in broad daylight.

Naeem Iqbal, 25, has been jailed after stabbing Khalil Raja four times on January 9, 2020, after hitting him on the head with a metal bat.

Preston Crown Court heard how Naeem Iqbal ran to ask his brother Mazar Iqbal to come with him and picked up the weapons from their home on Castle Street in Brierfield before heading to the victim who was near the war memorial in the town centre.

Prosecuting the case, Michelle Brown said that Nazeem Iqbal had originally encountered Mr Raja, who was sat on a bench, at about 3.45pm, with words being exchanged by the pair before Mr Raja got up and tried to throw a punch but missed.

Nazeem Iqbal started to run away, telling Mr Raja - "wait here one minute - I'll be back."

He ran to his home, which was just around the corner from the scene, woke up his brother Mazar Iqbal and collected the weapons, concealing them in his jacket.

Mr Raja was hit on the head several times with the bat by Naeem Iqbal before he was punched and taken to the flood by Mazar Iqbal.

The fight ended after about 60-seconds when Nazeem Iqbal stabbed Mr Raja four times in the back.

The brothers left the scene and CCTV caught Naeem Iqbal waving both weapons in the air and jumping around in a 'celebratory fashion'.

Mr Raja was taken to Burnley General Hospital for treatment before being transferred to the Royal Preston Hospital - luckily his physical injuries were not serious, but the incident has had an effect on his mental health.

Miss Brown said: "Mr Raja is having flashbacks of the stabbing which is affecting his sleep.

"He is worried about bumping into the defendants who live nearby.

"This was not a butter knife, it was a sharp knife and the injuries could have been a lot more serious."

After the attack, despite having already struggled with mental health difficulties, Mr Raja declined mental health services at the hospital before being sectioned days later.

Both the prosecution and the defence agree that the fight was not the only factor which caused Mr Raja to be sectioned as he was already struggling with his mental health.

Defending Naeem Iqbal, Rachel Woods said that, despite his lack of remorse in the pre-sentence report, he now regrets what he did and says that it was not a premeditated attack.

She said: "Whilst there appears to have been some premeditation, there was only a six minute gap between the first and second incident."

Ms Woods went on to say that Naeem Iqbal argues that it was in fact Mr Raja who started the argument and threw the first punch.

She added: "He came cross the victim by pure chance. They know each other.

"It's the defendant’s case that the victim offered violence first.

"The victim gets to his feet first and he can be seen throwing a fist."

Defending Mazar Iqbal, Joseph Allman asked the judge to consider suspending the sentence due to him caring for his mother who struggles with fibromyalgia.

Mr Allman said that Mazar Iqbal had been ‘foolish and naïve’ and left the house knowing that there was going to be trouble.

He said: “He accepts that he went expecting violence.

“He was upset because he is protective of his brother.”

Sentencing, Judge Robert Altham said that Naeem was 'clearly the leader' who caused significant injuries.

Speaking to Naeem Iqbal, Judge Altham said: “You recruited your brother and came back.

“As you ran to the corner you were seen raising your hands in apparent celebration of what you had done.”

Naeem Iqbal was sentenced to 20 months in prison whilst his brother Mazar Iqbal was given a 1 7 month sentence, suspended for 20 months.

Speaking about Mazar Iqbal, Judge Altham added: “There is hope. His role was very different that an immediate custodial sentence is not needed.”

Mazar Iqbal will also complete 120 hours of unpaid work in 12 months and undertake 25 days of rehabilitation.