Groom stabbed at wedding party

Joe Pattenden Hunt was celebrating after getting married in June

A groom who was stabbed along with his best man at a wedding party in the garden of an East Sussex home has said knife crime is "not just in London".

Joe Pattenden Hunt spoke after being attacked on Saturday evening at celebrations in Crowborough held a month after his wedding in June.

The pair were attacked after a group of gatecrashers disrupted the party.

Matthew Gould, 23, of Crowborough, has been charged with two counts of GBH. Police said the incident was "rare".

In an interview with BBC South East Today, Mr Pattenden Hunt said he thought he was going to die.

The 27-year-old said: "I did feel very frightened. I was going very faint. I was just trying to stay awake, and was sort of aware of what felt like a lot of blood.

"I could see a lot of blood and I was very worried for my best man and myself."

'Isolated incident'

Mr Pattenden Hunt said: "I've lived here in this lovely country location for 27 years and always felt very lucky and fortunate for being here - and then for something like this to happen.

"Crowborough is usually quite a sleepy little country town and these people are here - they're not just in London."

He said 80 guests had gathered at his father's house in Stone Cross on Saturday evening to celebrate his marriage to Laura, 27, on the Isles of Scilly.

The party was for those who missed the ceremony, but a group of gatecrashers also turned up.

The groom said he was knifed in the arm, while his best man was stabbed in the cheek, neck, chest, back and stomach.

They were treated at the Kent and Sussex Hospital in Tunbridge Wells, Kent.

Sussex Police said they were called to reports of a stabbing at a private wedding party just after midnight on Saturday.

Officers said two people, a 27-year-old man from Tonbridge, and a 34-year-old man from Mayfield, received serious injuries which were not life-threatening.

A statement from the force said: "Sussex Police are stressing that this is an isolated and rare incident which occurred at a private function."

Matthew Gould, of Alderbrook Close, appeared before magistrates in Brighton on Monday charged with possessing a bladed article in a public place and two counts of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

He was remanded in custody to appear at Lewes Crown Court on 24 October.

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Eighty guests were at the wedding party