Two men have been found guilty for their part in an attack that left a man with multiple stab injuries.

The 35-year-old victim had gone to Belhus Park in Aveley expecting to meet Michael Thompson to collect a mobile phone he had bought from him.

Thompson, 28, told him a friend also had a laptop and games console to sell to him.

But when the man arrived at the park, he was confronted by Thompson’s friend, Lewis Dodd, who pushed him to the ground, kicked him in the face repeatedly and stabbed him multiple times with a knife.

The victim fell unconscious and woke to find his jacket containing a mobile phone and a three-figure sum of cash had been stolen.

He had been stabbed in his legs and buttocks, and had fractures to his jaw, nose, cheeks and eye sockets.

He managed to stagger to nearby Shannon Way, where a member of the public saw him and called an ambulance.

Thompson, of Mill Lane, Grays was arrested on March 4, a day after the attack.

He was later charged with wounding with intent and robbery. He denied the charges and stood trial at Basildon Crown Court on Wednesday, November 7.

On Thursday, November 15, a jury found him guilty of robbery and not guilty of wounding with intent.

Dodd, 26, of West Street, Leytonstone, was arrested on March 5 and released on bail for further enquiries.

He failed to answer bail and was later arrested in Cheltenham on April 4, following a public appeal for information on his whereabouts.

Police searched an address in Tilbury where he had been staying at the time of the attack and found a pair of trainers stained with the victim’s blood.

The knife that was believed to have been used and the victim’s mobile phone were also found hidden at the house.

Dodd pleaded guilty to wounding with intent and robbery at Basildon Crown Court at a hearing in May.

Investigating Officer DC Ed Gosling, of Grays CID, said: “The victim had known Thompson for a number of years and placed trust in him when he was told to attend Belhus Park.

“This trust was betrayed in a terrible way as the arrangement was only a front to lure the victim to the park where he could then be robbed in an isolated location.

“As the victim entered the park, believing he was going to meet Thompson, he was attacked from behind by Dodd and subjected to a vicious and sustained attack.

“Dodd only put an end to the attack when his victim was rendered unconscious.

“As the victim lay defenceless, he took the opportunity to search his jacket pockets and make off with the mobile phone and cash he had been carrying.”

Both men have been remanded in custody and due to be sentenced at Basildon Crown Court on December 21.