Man is jailed for police stabbing

Essa Suleiman was sentenced to nine years for his crime

A Somali translator who stabbed a policeman and his dog has been sentenced to nine years for grievous bodily harm.

Essa Suleiman, of Boundary Lane in Camberwell, London, was convicted at Swindon Crown court.

Pc Neil Sampson was responding to a 999 call of a knife attack in Swindon, Wiltshire, in January.

The court heard the officer was off work for five months after the attack by the 27-year-old.

The judge ruled that half of Suleiman's sentence must be spent in custody.