A BARROW man who stabbed his victim twice in the leg will be detained under the mental health act for life. 

Aaron Webb, 27, heard his sentence at Preston Crown Court via video link from Guild Lodge, a psychiatric hospital in Lancashire. In January 2023 the court heard that Webb stabbed his victim's front right thigh twice at an address in Barrow. 

He was charged with section 18 grievous bodily harm with intent. 

The court heard that Webb had four other previous convictions. Judge Richard Archer told Webb that he was involved in an armed robbery in 2017 'when you were a youth.' 

Judge Archer also discussed at length a case regarding an alleged incident in 2020 involving Webb threatening to kill and revealing a blade to a victim at a graveyard, that never progressed as Webb was deemed not fit to give a plea. Psychiatrists gave evidence to Judge Richard Archer, and he accepted a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia.

The doctors said that he had a history of harmful abuse of psychoactive substances and he had responded well to medication.

Defending, Betsy Hindle raised Webb's young age and signs of improvement under treatment, as the order imposed on Webb can now only be lifted by the secretary of state. Ms Hindle also raised that Webb's armed robbery in 2017 as a youth was the only 'violent matter.' 

Beth Pilling, representing the prosecution, pointed to Webb's history of crime, which Judge Archer also raised when he delivering his verdict. 

"When you committed that offence, you had by that time already been convicted of possession of a bladed article," Judge Archer told Webb. "You were made subject of a suspended sentence."

He said that the order is imposed when it is 'necessary for the protection of the public from serious harm.'