Two men are charged over Friday's Dartford High Street assault and a knife and baton were recovered. The injured man in his 40s has left hospital.
Two men have been charged after a man in his 40s was seriously assaulted in Dartford High Street on Friday evening. Kent Police says officers recovered a knife and an extendable baton.
The injured man was treated for injuries consistent with stab wounds. The force says he has since been discharged from hospital.
Kent Police published the charges at 4.39pm on Monday 14 September (Kent Police). The force has named the two men charged:
| Charged | Age | Address given by police | Charges |
|---|---|---|---|
| James Dunnett | 33 | Dartford High Street | wounding with intent; possession of a bladed weapon in public |
| Philip Donkin | 49 | Wright Close, Swanscombe | assault occasioning actual bodily harm; possession of an offensive weapon in a public place |
Both men appeared at Sevenoaks Magistrates’ Court on Monday 14 September. They were remanded in custody until their next hearing, the force says.
A 37-year-old woman, the third person arrested, was released without charge.
A charge is an allegation, not a finding of guilt. Both men are entitled to a fair trial, and we will not report anything that could affect one. We will not publish details beyond what the force has released while the case is active.
What happened, according to Kent Police
The force’s first statement, published at 4.41pm on Saturday 12 September, said the incident happened at around 8.30pm on Friday 11 September, in the High Street (Kent Police). It described “an altercation between six people following a verbal disagreement”. Monday’s statement describes it as “an altercation involving several people”.
What the force has confirmed across both statements:
- patrols and paramedics attended
- a man in his 40s was treated for injuries consistent with stab wounds
- he was taken to a local hospital and has since been discharged
- those involved are understood to be known to each other
- three people were arrested and taken into custody
- officers recovered a knife and an extendable baton
Kent Police has not named the injured man or said exactly where in the High Street the assault happened. We have not added anything to that.
What the police are still asking for
Enquiries are ongoing. Kent Police wants to hear from anyone with relevant information or video footage. Its first appeal also said officers were reviewing town centre CCTV.
The appeal line is 01474 366149, quoting reference 46/151142/26. Crimestoppers takes information anonymously on 0800 555111 or through its online form.
Quoting the reference puts what you say straight onto the right file rather than into the general log.
The wider picture: what the record shows
No single incident tells you much about a town. The published record does, and it is worth setting alongside the appeal.
We counted every crime the Home Office has published inside the boundary Kent Police itself draws around its Town ward neighbourhood, which covers the High Street and the town centre. In the 12 months to July 2026, the latest month published, the record shows:
- 1,859 recorded crimes in total
- 488 violence and sexual offences, the largest single category at 26% of the total
- 396 shoplifting offences and 367 reports of anti-social behaviour
- 19 offences of possession of weapons across the whole year
Two things are worth saying plainly about those numbers.
The first is that “violence and sexual offences” is a broad Home Office category. It runs from harassment to the most serious assaults, and it is not a count of knife crime. “Possession of weapons” is a separate category and is also not the same thing as an offence committed with a knife. Neither figure tells you how often someone in Dartford is stabbed.
The second is that the trend has been downward for most of the year. Violence and sexual offences in the ward peaked at 78 in August 2025, fell to 21 in April 2026, and stood at 39 in July. The last three published months sit close to the 12-month average of about 41.
Figures come from police.uk street-level open data, published under the Open Government Licence. They are the offences police recorded, which is not the same as the offences that happened, and each one is mapped to the nearest street or landmark rather than an exact address.
What it means for you
If you have information or phone footage. Kent Police is still asking for it. Call 01474 366149 with reference 46/151142/26, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.
If you run a business on or near the High Street. If your cameras cover the street and still hold footage from around 8.30pm on Friday 11 September, tell the appeal line before the recordings are overwritten. Many systems loop within a fortnight.
If you are discussing the case online. Two men have now been charged, so the case is active. Posting claims about their guilt, or about what happened, can put a trial at risk. Send anything you know to the police instead.
If you are wondering whether the town centre is getting worse. On the published record, no. Recorded violence in the Town ward is lower than it was a year ago. That is a separate question from how safe an individual evening feels, and it does not diminish what happened on Friday.
Sources
- Kent Police: Two charged following serious assault in Dartford (force statement published 16:39 on 14 September 2026: the names, ages, addresses and charges of the two men, the court appearance and remand, the recovered knife and extendable baton, the victim’s discharge from hospital and the release of the woman without charge)
- Kent Police: Appeal for witnesses following serious assault in Dartford (force statement published 16:41 on 12 September 2026: the time, the location, the six people involved, the man in his 40s, the three arrests and their ages, the CCTV review and the appeal line and reference number)
- police.uk street-level open data (Home Office, Open Government Licence). Monthly crime counted inside Kent Police’s own Town ward neighbourhood boundary, August 2025 to July 2026, the latest month published
*We report what the force has published and nothing beyond it. Court results and the naming of people who have been arrested but not charged are outside what we cover.
Update, 15 September 2026: this article was first published on 13 September, when three people were in custody. It now carries Kent Police’s 14 September statement: two men charged, the woman released without charge, the recovered weapons and the injured man’s discharge from hospital. The headline has changed to reflect the charges. If anything here is wrong, tell us and we will publish a dated correction at the foot of this article.*
Other Dartford coverage: what is happening to the town centre’s empty shops, and our regularly updated guide to Dartford roadworks and travel.
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