A patient who stabbed members of staff at a mental health centre in Dartford has received a “significant sentence” for his crimes.

Myha Grant has been sentenced to sixteen years for stabbing two members of staff at the Bracton Centre mental health unit in Dartford on July 17 last year.

Grant had been taken to the hospital to receive treatment after he smashed a champagne bottle over the head of a man in Brixton two days before, on July 15.

Grant inflicted a total of 17 wounds on two members of staff at the centre.

The court heard how Grant had hidden outside the kitchen door and burst in when he heard it being opened.

A member of staff was thrown backwards as the 31-year-old paranoid schizophrenic grabbed a knife being used to prepare lunch and stabbed the member of staff repeatedly in the upper body.

A second member of staff activated a panic alarm before Grant turned on him, stabbing him a number of times before starting a fire with a cigarette lighter to burn the knife and clothes.

Grant was arrested in the courtyard of the centre, where he had stacked a number of heavy plant pots on top of one another in a failed attempt to climb onto the roof.

He was charged the following day and sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court today, February 13.

Inspector Ivan Beasley, of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, said: “This was an horrendous experience for all concerned.

“Myha Grant was being treated at the time for mental health issues and clearly poses a significant risk to innocent members of the public. The significant sentence he has received reflects what he put his victims through and is in the best interests of all concerned.

“I would like to thank everyone who helped us with this investigation and hope the conclusion of this case is of some comfort to all those affected.”

It was reported at the time that the staff’s injuries were serious but they were in stable conditions.

Grant, of no fixed address, was accused of two offences of attempted murder, but his guilty pleas to wounding with intent were accepted.

He also admitted arson and wounding with intent.

Grant will be kept in hospital under the Mental Health Act, but if his condition improves he will have to serve a 16-year jail sentence and be on licence for a further three years under an extended sentence.