A MAN has admitted stabbing a teenager in the back after he was identified following an appeal in the Lancashire Telegraph.

CCTV captured the moment Simon Yeoman, 19, of Bridge Street, Blackburn, carried out a vicious knife attack in the town centre.

Police said they were able to identify Yeoman as the prime suspect after the public came forward with information after a still from the footage was published in the Telegraph in January.

It lead to Yeoman being arrested on February 9.

Yeoman was later charged with wounding, an offence he admitted when he appeared at Preston Crown Court today.

The 19-year-old victim was knifed following a night out with friends.

The teenager, from Ribchester was walking home from the Cellar Bar in Blackburn with friends on Saturday, December 16.

The court heard how he was approached by Yeoman as he walked along King Street, Blackburn, at about 1.30am.

He was verbally abused before being stabbed in his lower back with a knife.

The offender made off from the scene and the injured man was taken to Royal Blackburn Hospital.

Det Con Martin Hulme, who lead the inquiry, said: "As a result of an appeal in the Lancashire Telegraph, information was given to the police which identified the suspect who was soon arrested and charged.

"Fortunately the victim has made a full recovery although clearly this was a serious assault on an innocent man which could have resulted in far more tragic consequences.

"This case has demonstrated how the use of CCTV and the local media can be crucial when identifying an offender and bringing him to justice."

Yeoman is due to be sentenced next month.