A young man has been jailed for four-and-a-half years after he slashed his cousin's boyfriend in a feud between two travelling families.

Three members of John Connor's family held his 17-year-old victim from the rival family down while he cut his face with a Stanley knife from top to mouth and gave him a second long slash from his eye, York Crown Court heard.

Then the 19-year-old turned on a 16-year-old friend of his victim and slashed him down the length of his spine and also cut him about the face, said Felicity Davies, prosecuting.

The younger victim needed 63 stitches and the older 41 after they managed to escape from the Connor family on an unofficial caravan site on Clifton Moor last May.

The Connor family filled the public gallery at York Crown Court to see the defendant, of no fixed address, but living at the Clifton Moor site at the time of his arrest, admit wounding both boys with intent.

He also admitted causing actual bodily harm to a cellmate at Northallerton Young Offenders Institution by shaving his eyebrows with a razor and giving him two black eyes.

Judge Peter Charlesworth jailed him for four years for the two woundings and added six months for the razor attack.

Miss Davies said the youths, both from Derby, had travelled to York to take Connor's cousin Teresa and another girl out.

When they returned to the site, Connor objected to her going out with the two boys and argued with her. The 17-year-old stepped in and fought with Connor.

The Derby youth had been holding his own against Connors until three older members of the Connor family joined in and gave Connor the knife.

They held the boy down and told Connor to "cut" the youth.

Mitigating, David Taylor said feeling between the two travelling families had been running high for a number of years and Connor had been at the Flying Legend pub before the attacks.

The matter only escalated because older people who should have known better became involved and encouraged Connor to use the knife on the boys.

Connor had acted completely out of character and was full of remorse.

His cellmate victim had convictions for robbery and had insulted him before the attack.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.