A former professional footballer with top London c

A former professional footballer with top London clubs was
jailed today Tuesday for a savage machete attack on a neighbour who
wrongly accused him of burglary.

As a 16-year-old Eric Paul, now 30, started as an apprentice with
Crystal Palace.

He played as a reserve there before moving onto Leyton Orient
and then West Ham United.

But a promising career was wrecked by a serious knee injury he
sustained in his early 20s, Southwark Crown Court was told.

A jury convicted father of two Paul of unlawfully and
maliciously wounding 21-year-old Cornell Cowans, who suffered a deep
wound to his neck.

He had been acquitted of the more serious charge of wounding with
intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

Jobless Paul, of the Burdett Estate, Burgess Street, Bow,
East London, had denied the charges.

During the trial he declined to give evidence.

Before passing sentence Judge Geoffrey Rivlin, QC, outlined the
facts of February 11 this year when Paul was wrongly accused of
burglary by neigbour Mr Cowans on the Burdett Estate.

When Paul heard that a friend had also been challenged about the
break-in and ‘roughly treated’ he armed himself with two knives – ‘one
undoubtedly a machete,’ said the judge.

He approached Mr Cowans in Burgess Street who tried to flee.

But in his haste he collided with a parked car and fell
flat on his face.

The judge said: ‘Then you struck him with the machete causing
a deep wound to his neck which later needed seven stitches.

‘It was a terrible attack.

‘
Paul was arrested later nearby.

Jailing Paul, of previous good character, for two and a half
years the judge added: ‘It is a great sadness that such a fine
sportsman should be facing sentence for such an offence of violence.

‘
Mr Aloyfius Kopieczek, defending, explained that there
had been ‘a history of bad feeling’ between Paul and Mr Cowans.

ENDS
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