Three men have been handed jail terms for attacking a man in Felixstowe after chasing him with weapons, including a Samurai sword and a machete.

Nolan Akuoko, 19, of Faraday Road, Ipswich, Keon Graham, 23, of no fixed address, and Jerome Greaves, 23, of Highfield Road, Felixstowe, were given 19, 30 and 40 month sentences respectively for violent disorder and possession of an offensive weapon.

By imposing lengthy sentences, judge Martyn Levett told Ipswich Crown Court he wanted to reflect the impact knife crime can have on communities in Suffolk and to bring home the message to the public in a 'stark way' that knife crime would not be tolerated.

READ MORE: Felixstowe: Three to be sentenced for machete sword chase

Greaves was also sentenced for being concerned in the supply of heroin and crack cocaine between January and March last year which related to him holding the county lines' “Saviour” drug line.

The men, who had previously admitted the offences, were caught on CCTV chasing the victim, who was carrying a claw hammer, along Coronation Drive and Elizabeth Way before frogmarching him into a car on December 28, 2020.

The car was then driven by the victim along the A14 before being stopped by police in the Nacton area of Ipswich.

Akuoko was also sentenced in relation to the kidnapping and robbery of a 17-year-old youth in Woodbridge, along with Kai Mangar, 19, of Brunswick Road, Ipswich, Dylan Craft, 19, of Mill Lane, Felixstowe, and Eliot Sadler, 18, of Nacton Road, Ipswich.

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Mangar and Craft both received two year suspended sentences and 60-day rehabilitation orders, while Sadler, who lured the victim to Fen Meadow in Woodbridge in December 2021, was ordered to complete unpaid work and given a rehabilitation order.

Mangar, Craft and Akuoko denied kidnapping and robbery but were found guilty after a trial last summer. 

Sadler denied robbery and kidnapping and was convicted of kidnapping but cleared of robbery.

The court heard that the victim of the kidnapping and robbery was lured to Fen Meadow in Woodbridge by Sadler, who had arranged to meet him on social media site Snapchat. 

He was then bundled into the back of the VW Polo, where he was robbed of his coat, a fake Rolex watch and cash during an hour-long ordeal.

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A flick knife was held to the victim's tongue and he was asked if he wanted to be stabbed, while his face ID was used to unlock his phone and transfer £500 out of it.

Prior to the incident, the victim had posted on social media site Instagram that he had access to £40,000 in Bitcoin, the court heard.

Mr Levett said the weapons used in the Felixstowe incident were found in the footwell of the vehicle after it had been stopped on the A14, while the victim was seen on CCTV to be bleeding from the head and ears.

He added the footage reflected the impact of 'knife carrying culture' and the impact of knife crime on communities.

"Even if a knife is held for protection or something else, there is always a risk that it is going to be used because it only takes a moment of anger for the weapon to be produced and offences to follow.

"With this sentencing, I have attempted to bring home this message to the public in a stark way. By imposing lengthy sentences, I can show in a stark way the importance of knife crime and the impact it has on towns in this county," Mr Levett added.