A Teesside man has been jailed for four and a half years after carrying out an unprovoked stabbing at a North Yorkshire holiday park.
Joshua Donnelly, 22, of Duxford Road, Middlesbrough, pleaded guilty to Section 18 wounding with intent and was sentenced at York Crown Court on Friday, 12 June 2026.
The attack took place at Flamingo Land Resort in Kirby Misperton, near Pickering, just after 1am on Thursday, 18 September last year.
The court heard Donnelly used a four-inch black-handled knife taken from a caravan kitchen drawer to stab a 38-year-old man from the Scottish Borders three times in the abdomen during a domestic dispute involving his partner. The victim, who had been trying to calm the situation, was on a family holiday and staying in a nearby caravan.
He was rushed to hospital by ambulance and underwent emergency surgery for a punctured colon.
Donnelly fled the holiday park following the attack. He was later stopped and arrested in a car by officers after extensive enquiries, including CCTV analysis and witness statements.
A gardener at the site later found the discarded knife in bushes, which was forensically linked to both Donnelly and the victim.
Donnelly was remanded in custody after appearing at York Magistrates’ Court on 20 September last year.
Police Investigator Liberty Ashton, from Scarborough and Ryedale CID, said the evidence against him left “very little option” but to plead guilty, describing the attack as a “terrible, vicious offence” that could have been fatal.
She added that the victim and his family had been left with long-term emotional and physical consequences.
A victim personal statement read to the court described the profound impact of the attack on the man’s family life, mental health, and employment, as well as ongoing physical difficulties including nerve damage affecting his right leg.
The court heard the incident has also had a lasting effect on his teenage son, who has become withdrawn and is now unable to attend school in person, and on the wider family, who have struggled with the aftermath.
The victim said the experience had caused significant mental distress, disrupted sleep, financial pressures, and ongoing trauma, describing the impact as “mental torture” and saying he continues to relive the events.
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