Teenage stab victim lucky to be alive, court hears

The group of friends were camping by the A63 near the Humber Bridge

A jury heard how a 13-year-old girl who was badly injured after being stabbed staggered on to a busy road to try and get help.

The girl was allegedly stabbed 10 times with a samurai-style sword while on a camping trip by the A63 in East Yorkshire on 1 November last year, Hull Crown Court heard.

A 15-year-old boy is accused of attempted murder.

The boy, who cannot be named due to his age, denies attempted murder but has pleaded guilty to wounding with intent and possessing a bladed weapon.

The jury heard the victim and the defendant had been on a Halloween camping trip by the Humber Bridge with friends, with one of the group taking along the sword.

However, after a row broke out between the victim and another girl, the victim wanted to leave and she was attacked by the boy as she made her way through a wood.

The jury heard witness statements from people who stopped to help after the girl escaped and desperately tried to flag down passing motorists on the A63.

They described her being covered in blood and struggling to breathe.

One witness said the girl told them: "I've been stabbed with a large knife by someone who I thought was a friend."

A critical care nurse who stopped to help said, in a statement, the youngster was badly injured and looked "petrified".

She was "lucky to have survived", he added.

A lorry driver who called 999 told the call handler the girl appeared "very distressed" and was "covered in blood".

The girl suffered wounds to her back, neck, arms and chest causing damage to her lungs. There was also an abdominal wound that penetrated her liver.

The boy is on trial at Hull Crown Court

The boy was later found by police inside a tent in a nearby field.

Bodycam footage played to the jury showed officers arresting him on suspicion of attempted murder.

The teenager replied: "Attempted murder – what?"

Officers later found a sword in the defendant's tent.

Previously, the jury heard the defendant was offered £20 by a friend to carry out the attack, with the prosecution claiming the defendant's behaviour before, during and after the attack showed he meant to kill.

The trial continues.

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