A bungling Hither Green thug has been jailed for eight years after a botched robbery attempt where he was stabbed before accidentally handing himself in.

Joshua Alexander, 27, of Springrice Road, stormed into a flat in Marchant Street, New Cross, on the night of May 20 along with two unidentified men.

Dressed in dark clothing and balaclavas, the trio scaled the block of flats by climbing up a drainpipe and onto the balcony of the first-floor home.

Alexander threatened a resident in the kitchen by holding a vodka bottle under a cloth to pretend it was a firearm.

When the victim realised it wasn’t a gun, Alexander hit him over the head with the bottle, causing a large gash.

The trio ran then upstairs to a bedroom where a woman and two children were hiding.

The resident who had been clattered with the bottle ran up with a kitchen knife before Alexander suffered a stab wound in the struggle.

Concerned neighbours who heard the commotion rang police before the men left empty-handed.

Alexander accidentally handed himself in after calling police to say he had been stabbed and injured.

He was arrested at a south London hospital and was eventually charged through witness accounts and evidence found at the scene.

Detective Constable Aaron Saunders said: “This was a brazen and violent ordeal which left the victims terrified in their own home.

"I am pleased this dangerous man is no longer a threat to the public and I hope the sentencing acts as a deterrent to those involved in this type of criminality."

Alexander was found guilty of conspiracy to rob at Woolwich Crown Court following a week-long trial.

Police are still searching for the two other men involved in the incident.