The incident took place at the MPV Gallery in the North Brabant province.

He first bought the drugs online for himself, East Brabant District Court said in a written verdict.

Mr Burrows said the men burst into a flat in Gershwin Road, sprayed a chemical in another man's face and chased Mr Brabant into a next-door garden.

Passing sentence, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said the four drug dealers gathered weapons including the blade and a steel baseball bat with intent to kill Mr Brabant.

Michael Burrows KC, prosecuting, said the defendants were part of a "pack which hunted down, chased and killed" Mr Brabant, at a time when they knew he was vulnerable due to a fractured leg.