THE mother of a man who was brutally stabbed and left for dead has thanked everyone who came to his aid.

The 30-year-old man was walking home from the pub when he was stabbed in the back of the leg in Bardfield Road, Colchester.

The blade hit a major artery and left him bleeding out on the road.

The father-of-one needed eight pints of blood and it was touch and go if he would make it.

He is still recovering in hospital.

His distraught mother said: “I’m just stunned to think he could have died. He lost most of his blood.

“They stabbed him in the main artery. He hasn’t got a clue what happened, he doesn’t remember.

“He was walking home and cutting through Bardfield Road when it happened.

“We don’t know how much damage has been done. We just have to wait and see.”

Nearby residents rushed to the victim’s aid and they called an ambulance and applied pressure to the wound to staunch the bleeding. He was taken to the Princess Alexandra Hospital, Harlow, for emergency surgery.

The man’s mother said: “I am so grateful to the people who helped him.

“He doesn’t remember it at all but to know what they did for him is a comfort. His doctors have been fantastic too.

“I want to thank each and every one of them. Without them all, we could have been burying him next week.

“You don’t imagine this will ever happen to your son. He could have been in a coffin.

“I don’t want people to live in fear because of this.”

The incident happened at about 11.45pm on Thursday, April,2.

Anyone with information is asked to call Colchester CID on 101.