Stabbing victim tells pupils of ordeal terror

A TEENAGER who was stabbed in the street and nearly bled to death has recounted his horrific ordeal in front of shocked pupils.

Brad Kenworthy was just 16 when he sustained serious injuries which he says nearly cost him his life.

He told pupils at Rastrick High School that the stabbing incident in Newsome in December had changed his outlook on life.

Brad was left covered in blood after being slashed with a machete as two gangs clashed in Church Lane.

The Dalton teenager, who now works with Deighton-based Conflict Resolutions to steer young people away from crime, told pupils about a series of small incidents which had escalated into serious street violence.

“It started when my girlfriend came home from school with a bruise on her back,” he recalled.

“I found out it was because she had been hit by someone messing about.

“There was already tension between my group of friends and the person who had hit my girl’s group of friends - this only proceeded to escalate the situation.

“I decided to retaliate and catch him coming straight out of school. I wasn’t alone but made it clear I was fighting and no-one was to get involved.

“I saw him coming out of the school doors ... I went on to knock him to the ground and hit him as hard and fast as I could. After I’d burned my energy I walked off to my girlfriend who had seen the whole thing.

“She wasn’t happy with the fact she had seen me like that and neither was I.”

The following day, Brad was severely injured in a machete attack.

“I heard rumours that a few men were looking to find me and retaliate. I wasn’t fazed and was anticipating something was going to happen.

“There was a group of around 30 people that I was with in the village ... someone gets a phone call that people are on their way. I heard they weren’t carrying weapons so I didn’t feel the need to be prepared.

“I waited for a while nowhere a group of people come up behind me.

“I turn around and respond to them shouting threats. I can see they weren’t expecting my response. They then pull out long kitchen knives and a machete.

“I’m unarmed. They are still over the street shouting threats until eventually we move onto a gravel area next to the chemists. I move towards the man with the machete and then he goes to hit me but it only skims my head and then my arms on the way down.

“He then goes for me again as I move closer and this time he misses and hits the floor.

“We get distracted by another fight beside me and then all of a sudden I get a big rush of adrenaline and run towards the man with the machete.

“I hit him in the jaw and he falls to the ground. We are then wrestling on the floor with him still wielding the machete. We both stand up and he quickly slices the machete through my ribs in a frenzied stab and then he runs away.

“I turn to my girlfriend who is crying and shaking but I tell her it’s okay. I haven’t realised I’ve been stabbed but she points out I’m soaking on my right side. I take my jumper off and see pools of blood squirting out of the side of my chest. It looks like a horror film but I knew I had to stay calm so I tell my girlfriend to wrap something around the wound and help me to get into the shop a few metres across the path.

“As I got into the shop I felt my chest getting tighter. I sat down and there was blood all over the floor. I felt dizzy and sick. I couldn’t breathe and all I could do was think about my family and people I loved.

“I was seeing so much blood and feeling so much pain.

“When the ambulance arrived I was struggling to walk and I was staggering. I was trying as hard as I could to catch my breath but it was like trying to breathe with someone covering my mouth. My skin was pasty white and I was freezing and numb everywhere.

“I got into the ambulance with help and they were checking my wound and chest when all of a sudden blood shoots out of my chest and covers the inside of the ambulance. This is when more panic sets in as even the paramedics didn’t look confident or in control of the situation.

“The right side of my chest began to

I couldn’t breathe and all I could do was think about my family and people I loved.