Simmering tension between two housemates led to one stabbing the other, a court heard.

Victim Joseph Ball was knifed in the chest by 47-year-old Paul Davies in Penrith.

Having admitted wounding Mr Ball, who spent almost a week in hospital, Davies was sentenced at Carlisle Crown Court.

Prosecutor Nigel Booth set the scene for a crime which was committed after the two men began to share a property within a "rehabilitation" centre.

Davies was recovering from an alcohol condition, while Mr Ball - aged in his thirties -was seeking to overcome a drug addiction.

Initially there was friction over Davies doing most of the cooking and also working, while Mr Ball was not employed.

And when the tension grew, a third party chaired a summit meeting between the men.

It was agreed that Mr Ball would move out temporarily.

But trouble flared on February 20 when Mr Ball returned unexpectedly after bingeing on cider and Guinness.

It was "impossible" to determine how deep the wound was.

The blade was said to have punctured the lung cavity but not the organ itself.

However, Mr Ball's condition initially deteriorated at the scene.

He turned grey, appeared to lose consciousness and then seemed not to be breathing.

Police put him in the recovery position and used an oxygen mask before an ambulance arrived.

Davies, the court heard, was a man with no previous convictions or cautions.

He had suffered from "personal problems", and his barrister, Greg Hoare, said: "He certainly is keen to try to resolve this matter as soon as possible."

Having heard the mitigation, Recorder Michael Murray concluded the case had "special features".

He decided it would not be in the public interest to send Davies straight to prison.

A 16-month jail sentence was suspended for two years.

Davies, now of Warwick Road, Whitstable, must complete a rehabilitation and observe a night-time curfew.

He was told by Recorder Murray: "I am quite satisfied you are well aware of the enormity of what you did.

"I have a feeling you won't commit any further offences - and I hope I am right about that."