'I'm ashamed', says Corby teen Max Boulton who stabbed boy twice in back in zombie knife revenge attack

Max Boulton, who is just 19, said that he had fallen victim to stabbings and knife attacks on six occasions and had been carrying a ‘horrendous-looking’ knife for his own protection.

The teen gave a court a first-hand stark account of how he had become embroiled in gang in-fighting in Corby, which ended for him in a 100mph car chase through rural Northamptonshire which he posted live on Snapchat.

It was acknowledged in court that Boulton had become a victim of ‘modern day slavery’ by gang leaders and that those whose job it was to protect him had ‘failed to keep him safe’.

‘You’re being followed’

Boulton, of no fixed abode, was in court to be sentenced for GBH following the horrifying attack in an alleyway on the Lodge Park estate earlier this year.

Prosecuting, Laura Blackband told the court that the 16-year-old victim had been walking alone in Shetland Way on April 15 while on a call to a friend.

He was going to visit his girlfriend and had to walk down one of the estate’s many alleyways to get there.

He noticed the gang of three, dressed in black and with balaclavas covering their faces with one carrying a zombie knife, behind him.

The person on the other end of the call spotted that he was being followed by the trio and alerted his pal.

Ms Blackband said: “They followed him into the alleyway shouting ‘come here’ and he tried to run away.

"But he was stabbed in the back.”

The victim was carrying a rucksack and the first blow went through it, and his clothing. He rucksack was removed and a second stab wound went straight into his back.

He saw Boulton lift his balaclava as he stabbed him and recognised him as someone he knew well.

Ms Blackband added: “The victim managed to get to his girlfriend’s house and he was taken to Walsgrave Hospital in Coventry."

He had two wounds extending through muscle.

Boasted on Snapchat

Police later found a similar knife stashed at the house of one of Boulton’s friends, but they could not be sure it was the same one used in the stabbing.

Later that evening Boulton took to Snapchat to boast about the stabbing and confronted the victim, accusing him of lying about the attack.

Police began a search for Boulton and, the next day, tracked him to the Bulls Head Inn in leafy Arthingworth near Market Harborough where he had been staying.

He tried to escape in a red Ford Kuga but police began a pursuit that lasted 20 minutes and got up to speeds of 100mph on narrow country roads.

While driving, Boulton filmed the chase and again posted it on Snapchat.

Ms Blackband said: “He crossed white lines and undertook dangerous overtaking manoeuvres.

Eventually the car was cornered in Brixworth and Boulton was arrested. He was only a provisional licence holder and had no ‘L’ plates on his car. He was also found to be under the influence of cannabis.

Boulton later pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, possession of a knife and Section 18 grievous bodily harm with intent.

The two men who were with him at the time of the attack – Cameron Hughes and Logan McBride – had the charges against them discontinued.

‘I had my face slashed’

His Honour Judge Mayo gave Boulton the unusual opportunity to address the court directly from the HMP Peterborough video link.

Reading from a prepared note, he said: “I’ve done something so bad that I fully regret and am ashamed of.

"I was in a bad place by being stabbed myself by the victim’s associates.

"I was going out every day scared.”

Boulton said he was carrying the knife for his own protection.

“I’ve been a victim of knife crime six times,” he said, adding that one attack left him unable to write so he had to ask for help from a pal in prison to write the note to the judge for him.

"I’ve had my face slashed by his (the victim’s) associates and I’ve been beaten up since I came to jail,” he said.

"I want to change my life and get a job, spend time with my family and my girlfriend.”

Boulton outlined difficulties in his childhood, describing himself as a ‘troubled child’ who was in and out of the care system.

"When I did this crime I was only 18,” he added.

"I was immature and in the wrong. If I could change my actions I would. I’m just going to have to live with it.”

Boulton’s mum was in tears in the public gallery as she watched her son read his statement.

‘Someone may end up dead’

For Boulton, barrister Paul Vickers said that his client had no relevant previous convictions and had shown genuine remorse.

He said that probation workers had deemed him to be a victim of modern day slavery by gang operators.

Boulton has a conviction for driving a motorbike without a licence or insurance in Tanfields Grove, Corby, back in 2022 when he was just 16. That offence could not be reported because Boulton was a youth.

His Honour Judge Rupert Mayo said that he acknowledged Boulton had had a ‘difficult’ background.

"You were made the subject of a deprivation of liberty order because those who were given the job of looking after you couldn’t keep you safe,” he said.

"Reading between the lines, if looks like you were involved in gangs.

"You have said you were stabbed and assaulted six times and in April this year you were carrying a horrendous-looking knife for your own protection.

"You stabbed the victim twice in the back. I’ve no doubt this was a revenge attack.”

Judge Mayo said that he wanted to break the pattern of escalation and said that he would not impose an extended licence period because he believed Boulton was capable of ‘using his own resources’ to ‘regulate how he behaves.’

"Maybe you have learned your lesson,” he added.

"I hope that when you leave custody you will have learned that revenge is not the answer because the revenge continues and someone may end up dead."

He gave Boulton a jail sentence of 46 months and banned him from driving for 12 months after he leaves prison. He will have to sit an extended re-test before he can legitimately drive.

In September it became illegal to possess zombie knives in the UK after a tightening-up of the law.