A man who tried to attack a woman and then stabbed her brother in the heart has been jailed.

Kristian Holme-Slater, 25, left the man in intensive care after stabbing him in Goldsmiths Row last August.

Holme-Slater, of Hastings, was sentenced last Wednesday - February 23 - at Snaresbrook Crown Court to a total of 10 years, comprising a custodial sentence of seven years and a further three to be served on licence.

Det Con Jamiesha Majevadia, from the Metropolitan Police's local policing team in Hackney and Tower Hamlets, said: “This could very easily have been a murder investigation.

"The victim’s condition was critical and he required open heart surgery to save his life."

At around 11.38pm on August 27 last year, Holme-Slater approached a woman and her male friend in Goldsmiths Row and, "completely unprovoked", slashed at them both with a knife.

Both leapt out the way and managed to escape without injury.

Later the 32-year-old victim – who is the brother of the woman Holme-Slater had tried to attack – attended the area.

He saw Holme-Slater on his bicycle and challenged him as to why he had tried to attack his sister.

Holme-Slater got off his his bicycle and stabbed the victim in his heart. The victim made his way to his sister where he collapsed and an ambulance was called.

The victim was taken to hospital in a critical condition. He was discharged after five days after receiving treatment in intensive care.

Holme-Slater was arrested on September 17 after a Met investigation identified the suspect "within hours of committing the offence" as he was known in the local community.

Det Con Majevadia said: "CCTV investigations with private and local authority CCTV captured the offence in its entirety.

"Numerous victim statements were obtained and forensic exhibits were seized from the scene.

"A lengthy manhunt ensued for Holmes-Slater as he was actively pursued across London and the South East before returning to the Hackney area where he was arrested by specialist resources."

“The Met has long prioritised our response to knife crime, and this case is another example of our determination to bring to justice those responsible for such violent acts.”