A man stabbed six times by his stepson after a petty row still 'dearly loves' him and just wants him to get help.
Alan Brown, 44, knifed Lee Hiley at the home they both shared with Brown's mother, Teresa McCarthy, in Cheadle.
Brown had been homeless for a time, and the couple begged him to move in so they could look after him.
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Mr Hiley described Brown as his 'best friend', and the pair developed a close bond as they fixed an old motorbike together.
A minor row over the renovation project appeared to be the trigger for the 'wholly out of character' knife attack.
"The pair had argued about who had put together a wire on the bike, in such a way that it was not working," prosecutor Andy Evans told Manchester Crown Court.
Mr Hiley became 'irritated' after Brown accused him of being a 'liar'.
The following day, on September 3 last year, Mr Hiley told Ms McCarthy about the row, and said he was going to confront her son.
After Mr Hiley said 'I’m not having you call me a liar', Brown attacked him.
He knifed his stepfather six times, leaving him bleeding on the floor before he ran out of the house. Ms McCarthy was 'convinced' her partner was going to die, Mr Evans said.
He had been stabbed to the head, back, arms and hand. He suffered a collapsed lung but has since made a full recovery.
Brown was apprehended and originally charged with attempted murder.
But he later pleaded guilty to the less serious offence of unlawful wounding, following consultations with Mr Hiley and evaluation of Brown's mental state.
Mr Hiley told prosecutors that he 'still loved the defendant dearly', that Brown had 'been through enough' and that he 'just wanted him to get help'.
"Alan is my best friend and son to my girlfriend," Mr Hiley said in a statement the week after he was attacked.
"He has been through a lot and isn't himself. Since Covid he has been a recluse which has made his mental health go really bad. I'm worried about him as a person.
"Although I'm the one in hospital receiving the treatment I wish for him to seek help for his mental health.
"I don't believe this incident reflects him as a person, this incident is a freak incident. I hope he is alright."
Brown, of Cornwall Avenue, Levenshulme, has now been jailed for two years. Defending, Damian Nolan said Brown had lost his job following the coronavirus lockdown, and that he'd sought solace in smoking cannabis.
"I accept that you were suffering from mental illness at the time you committed this wholly out of character offence," sentencing judge Hilary Manley said.
She described the attack as 'utterly astonishing', given the 'very close and happy relationship' the pair had enjoyed previously.
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