A MAN who was charged with attempted murder following a gruesome axe attack in Dalton has been sentenced to seven years in prison after pleading guilty to unlawful wounding.

Witnesses to the attack reported seeing a man carrying an axe dripping with blood into a newsagents in the town centre after the incident in Broughton Road on June 22.

A witness told The Mail how the drama unfolded before him, saying he believed an off-duty policeman eventually intervened.

He said: "I saw a guy walk into the newsagents carrying a bloody axe, then shortly after a different guy walked out covered in blood.

"I spoke to the person who runs the shop and he said that the guy with the axe was stopped by an off-duty police officer who just happened to be driving past."

Photos taken in the immediate aftermath of the attack show a man being tended to on the pavement by members of the emergency services.

Following an investigation, 43-year-old Timothy David Nickson, of Broughton Road, was charged with attempted murder and remanded in custody.

He later pleaded guilty to the lesser charges of unlawful wounding and possession of an offensive weapon and was sentenced at Preston Crown Court this morning (Monday November 6).

Timeline: Dalton axe attack

June 22

8pm - The police were called to an incident that occurred in Broughton Road, Dalton.

9.19pm - Police confirmed that a 46-year-old man, Alan Kendall, was taken to hospital with life threatening injuries.

A 42-year-old male was arrested in connection with an attempted murder, he was also taken to Furness General Hospital with injuries.

June 23

10.52am - Police confirmed an axe was seized and they are not treating the incident as terrorist related.