Mum says son needs 24-hour care after knife attack

Tharel Thompson's mother Yvonne said her son was a "very active person" before the attack

The mother of a man who was stabbed in the head in a Reading nightclub has described the "heart-wrenching" impact on their lives after his attacker was jailed.

Barbados national Tharel Thompson sustained life-changing injuries in the Walkabout Bar in Reading in the early hours of 11 February.

Krisma Anthony, 23, of Repository Road, Greenwich, London, has now been found guilty of his attempted murder and jailed for 27 years, Thames Valley Police said.

Mr Thompson's mother Yvonne said: “Since the trial, it haunts me daily, thinking and seeing how he was injured. It will be forever etched in my brain."

Krisma Anthony subjected Mr Thompson to a "vicious, needless and apparently unprovoked attack", police said

Mr Thompson had travelled from the Caribbean to stay with relatives in Reading for a holiday when he was stabbed three days into his trip.

Det Insp Nick Hind said Anthony carried out a "vicious, needless and apparently unprovoked attack" near the club's toilets.

“He left Mr Thompson for dead in the corridor of the nightclub before making good his escape," he said.

The lighting technician was placed in a medically-induced coma after surgery to prevent bleeding to his brain.

Mrs Thompson said she now must provide him with 24-hour care, and it has left her family with medical bills she cannot pay.

Mrs Thompson said her son "has always been a nice person, and his personality is still the same"

She said: "I had to borrow money to get on the first flight out from Barbados to the UK that same evening. The flight was the longest eight hours of my life.

“When I first saw Tharel in the ICU, it was heart-wrenching. I’ll never forget seeing his head being so swollen."

She said the details and images from her son's attack, which she witnessed at the trial also "haunts" her daily.

Mrs Thomson said: "Thinking and seeing how he was injured. It will be forever etched in my brain."

She said she has had to relocate to the UK, and it meant she lost her home in Barbados, and now also faces losing her job.

“Now that Tharel is out of rehab, I have had to give him 24-hour care, in terms of bathing, dressing him, preparing meals, everything. It is the same as caring for a baby," she said.

“He was a very independent person, but now he has lost this completely."

She added that her son is now "very conscious of his safety", regularly questioning people and "always worried" when he hears noises that someone is breaking into his house.

“The attack on Tharel has affected me mentally," Mrs Thompson said.

"I constantly look over my shoulder when I am in public, from the fear of also being attacked."

Tharel Thompson, pictured as he goes through rehab, wearing a helmet to protect his injured head

She said because her son was not insured, they have been left with more than £160,000 of medical bills.

"The surgery that Tharel needs is not something that he can get in Barbados. He will also require further therapy," she said.

"It has left us with financial challenges because we both no longer have a permanent income, and are partially relying on family and friends for support.

“We also do not have a permanent home, and our future is uncertain."