A 22-year-old man has been sentenced to 45 months in prison following a knife fight in Hatfield.

Aswan Edwards, of Mill Ridge in Edgware, north London, was handed a prison sentence totalling three years and nine months at St Albans Crown Court on Thursday, August 11.

He was involved in a knife fight at around 9.15pm on July 16 2020 in an alleyway off Haseldine Meadows in Hatfield, near Roe Hill Park.

The knife fight "almost killed" 32-year-old David Chitungo, of Wood Common, Hatfield, according to police in Hertfordshire.

Chitungo received a prison sentence on October 7, 2021 for crimes related to the same incident.

During his trial, Edwards tried to claim he was a victim of modern slavery, but a judge at St Albans said he had misrepresented himself in front of a jury.

The prosecution made an application to the judge which would allow the jury to hear about Edwards' previous convictions for violence, which were related to the possession of knives and drugs.

The judge granted this request.

Edwards was sentenced to one year and three months in prison for affray, and an additional two years and six months for possession of cocaine with intent to supply - totalling three years and nine months.

He was additionally sentenced to one year in prison for possession of a bladed article, and a further year each for two counts of possession of cannabis with intent to supply, which will run at the same time as the first 45 months.

Detective Sergeant Daniel Webb, of Hertfordshire Constabulary, said: "Drugs and weapons have no place in Welwyn Hatfield and I hope that the public feel reassured that we work hard to make sure the borough is safe from them.

"I hope that Edwards spends his time behind bars reflecting on his actions."

Chitungo, the man who was sentenced in October 2021, was handed 18 months in prison for affray at St Albans Crown Court.

He was also sentenced to 12 months imprisonment for possession of a bladed article, which will run at the same time as the first 18 months.