A “crazed” 16-year-old tried to knife his friend to death in a dark alley in a row over drugs money, a jury heard.

The masked teenager carried out a “sustained, ferocious, attack” – thrusting the weapon into his 15-year-old victim’s face, neck and chest, it is alleged.

The youth, from the Manningham area of Bradford, who cannot be named because of his age, denies attempted murder on March 17. He also pleads not guilty to an alternative charge of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and to having an offensive weapon.

Prosecutor Jonathan Sharp told the jury at Bradford Crown Court yesterday that the accusation of attempted murder was “a very serious allegation to make, especially against a 16-year-old boy.”

But Mr Sharp said the Crown’s case was that the boy attacked the 15-year-old so viciously that his intention was to kill him.

The alleged victim, now 16, told the jury he had known the defendant for about four years and they had met weekly to smoke cannabis. He said his friend was dressed all in black that night and wore a zip-up mask.

They arranged to meet a dealer in Mornington Villas, Manningham, but were left empty-handed after the 16-year-old lost a £5 note.

The boy said he was using his phone light to search for the missing cash when he felt a thump on the back of his head.

He turned to see the older boy holding a kitchen knife. “He seemed very angry and he was looking directly at me,” he told the court.

The boy said he was stabbed by the 16-year-old who told him: ‘It’s not me. It’s somebody else stabbing you’. “He looked crazy,” he told the jury.

Mr Sharp said: “It was a sustained, ferocious, attack” with the purpose of killing the boy. The 15-year-old spent a week in hospital. His injuries included a fractured skull and cheekbone.

The 16-year-old denies attacking his friend The trial continues.