A man has been cleared of trying to kill a stranger during a knife attack at a Rhos-on-Sea restaurant.

A jury took just over 15 minutes to find Dalton Morrisey not guilty of attempting to murder Gareth Edwards at Hickory’s Smokehouse on August 10 last year.

Morrisey, 26, offered little emotion as the jury cleared him following a four-day trial.

But he was warned by Judge Rhys Rowlands that he faced a “lengthy custodial sentence” for two other offences related to the attack on Mr Edwards.

Previously Morrisey, of Pen Y Cwm, Llandudno had admitted charges of wounding with intent and the possession of a bladed article.

He was remanded in custody to be sentenced for those offences at Mold Crown Court on Monday, February 18.

Morrisey claimed during the trial that he had little recollection of attacking Mr Edwards in a toilet at the restaurant.

He had spent the evening drinking beer and cocktails with two friends and said his mood darkened and he picked up cutlery from a table with the intention of self-harming.

But he used one of the steak knives on Mr Edwards who suffered 25 stab wounds, one of which punctured his lung.

Mr Edwards said he was standing with his back to his assailant when he realised he had been stabbed in the back. The altercation carried on with the victim seeking refuge in a cubicle and fighting back by grabbing the knife and stabbing Morrisey in the leg.

Morrisey fled the restaurant but then attempted to give himself up to two men who were repairing a car in nearby Second Avenue, mistakenly believing they were police officers.

When he was finally arrested he told a PC that “some guy has annoyed me”.

He told police he could only remember inflicting “the first couple of blows” with the knife.

And he added: “I don’t like violence or conflict. I was devastated when it happened. I’ve never been in trouble before I just can’t believe that I inflicted these injuries.”