A teenage knifing victim with a severed wrist artery was saved by a quick-thinking front desk employee at Chelmsford police station.

Essex Ambulance Service officers said that the 19-year-old could have died if the gaping wound had not been pinched together.

An ex-fireman, working as a station office assistant, rushed out into the street to find him with blood pumping from the wound.

The victim had staggered about 50 yards from disused Marconi buildings in Victoria Road, where he had been attacked with a hunting knife around 1am.

He had lost so much blood that police were easily able to follow the trail to the scene of the attack. The police civilian held the wound together until ambulance officers arrived.

It is believed that the teenager had lost at least two pints of blood.

He was recovering in Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford, after undergoing surgery to repair the artery, a tendon and a nerve.

It is believed that two men were involved in the knifing. The victim had been wearing a grey Next shirt and black trousers.

Anyone who saw the incident is asked to contact Dc Nick Graham on 01245 491212, or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

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