A MAN who stabbed his friend to death in a row over a misspelled text message has been jailed indefinitely for public protection.

Neil Brook, aged 33, killed friend and neighbour Josef Witkowski in a “dramatic and extremely violent” attack in his flat in Wilbraham Road, Walkden, on July 24 last year.

The pair fell out after Brook sent Mr Witkowski a text message containing the word “nutter”, which came out as “mutter” because of his predictive text.

Mr Witkowski took offence and they began to exchange a series of increasingly abusive and angry text messages.

When Mr Witkowski then came to Brook’s flat, Brook launched a frenzied attack on his friend using knives that he had taped to the wall in anticipation of trouble.

He then kicked in his bathroom door when Mr Witkowski locked himself inside and, after a struggle, stabbed him in the heart.

Brook was cleared of murder at Manchester Crown Court last month, but convicted of manslaughter after the jury accepted his claim that the attack had been provoked.

Judge Michael Henshell jailed Brook indefinitely yesterday and he must now serve a minimum of six years before he is eligible for release.

Mr Witkowski had 104 wounds all over his body including slice marks on his hands where he tried to defend himself.

When police arrived, Brook was covered from head to toe in blood.

Senior Investigating Officer Vinny Chadwick said: “Once again this case highlights the dangers of knives and the consequences of choosing to arm yourself with them.”