A POLISH man booked a flight home the day after he was allegedly involved in a vicious assault in Ipswich that left a man fighting for his life.booked a flight back home the day after a vicious assault in Ipswich left a man fighting for his life.

A POLISH man booked a flight back home the day after a vicious assault in Ipswich left a man fighting for his life.

Matthew Buckman was stabbed and beaten to within an inch of his life in an alleyway leading between Upper Brook Street and Woolworths car park Ipswich Crown Court heard.

Damian Brauer has pleaded guilty to wounding with intent to cause Mr Buckman grievous bodily harm with a knife but his Woodbridge Road housemate Slawomir Inczewski denies being his accomplice and committing the same offence but with a blunt weapon.

Andrew Shaw, prosecuting, said Mr Buckman and his friend Kurtis Pack were in Carr Street when a fight broke out between them and Mr Brauer on May 26 last year.

Mr Shaw said: “It was an unpleasant encounter and almost certainly Damian Brauer came off worst. Passers-by said it was two against one.”

He said Brauer went home, changed his clothes, armed himself with a knife and recruited Inczewski to find Mr Buckman and Mr Pack for a revenge attack.

Mr Shaw said: “We say the defendant armed himself with a weapon which could be used to deliver blunt force.”

He added that when Mr Brauer and Inczewski tracked the men down in the alleyway Mr Brauer stabbed Mr Buckman in the face, neck and arms and Inczewski hit him with a blunt instrument.

Mr Shaw said the Polish men fled when witnesses arrived and Mr Pack managed to walk his friend along Upper Brook Street and Tacket Street to Zing Bar where members of the public treated him until paramedics arrived.

Mr Shaw added: “Mr Buckman was severely injured. Paramedics who attended outside Zing Bar saved his life.”

Mr Buckman, 19, of Kesgrave was treated at Ipswich and Addenbrooke's Hospitals.

Inczewski denied being Brauer's accomplice. He told police he had worked with his brother all that day and had returned home and had a “couple of beers” to celebrate his 25th birthday before going to bed at 9pm. He said he woke up between 12 and 2am and had walked into town and intended to go to Pals Nightclub but when he reached Sainsburys in Upper Brook Street he felt unwell and returned home. At 11.47am on May 27 Inczewski booked himself on a flight to Poland.

The court heard that the flight was not until July 7 and only one witness had picked out Inczewski from an identity line up.

The trial which is expected to run into next week continues.