Kentish Express Ashford & District
‘It’s taken a huge toll on all of us’
Mum tells of family’s stabbing ordeal at home
A traumatised mum has spoken for the first time about a brutal attack in which her son, dog and a friend stabbed at her home.
The mother says her family is still “living in fear” after masked men broke into their home and attacked them with machetes.
Mum-of-three Carley - whose name has been changed to protect her identity - had been enjoying a quiet night at home on January 6 when the shocking incident took place in Beecholme Drive, Kennington, Ashford.
“We were quite literally just sat at the table when four masked men walked through the back door,” she explained.
“One came towards me and my daughter, the other three went towards my friend and my son.”
In the ensuing chaos, Carley could only watch as her 14-yearold son was stabbed in the back, while their friend was wounded in the arm.
The family’s beloved dog, Boy, also sustained a serious slash wound to his head after leaping at one of the attackers.
“Boy managed to pin one of them up against the wall - he’s always been protective - but that is when he got a deep slash to the face,” said Carley.
“The whole thing was entirely out of the blue and it was over in seconds.”
Shocking images and videos provided by the family show the house thrown into chaos after the attack.
Furniture and broken glass has been thrown everywhere, while blood - much of it understood to be Boy’s - covers the floor and the walls.
Emergency services soon arrived, and Carley’s son was airlifted to a London hospital shortly before 7pm, where he was treated for his serious back injury.
The family friend was taken to the William Harvey to be treated for his injury, while Boy was taken to the vet.
All three survived and are on the way to healing physically.
However, the family are still dealing with the psychological toll that the traumatic incident took on them.
“My children are all dealing with what has happened - we all are - and it has taken a huge toll on all of us,” Carley explained.
“My youngest, the one who was stabbed, has ADHD and he is also now dealing with paranoia because of what happened.”
Two men have been arrested in connection with the incident, but no charges have been brought.
A police spokesman confirmed that a 19-year-old man from Ashford was arrested in January, but released without charge, while a 26-year-old from Folkestone was arrested in March and released under investigation.
The family moved in with relatives following the horrifying experience, but Carley said that detectives had concerns that they could still be in serious danger.
“When the incident happened we were assigned a social worker, which you would expect when children are involved – and our social worker told me that in a meeting after the attack police said that we should leave the borough as they are still concerned about another attack,” she said.
“We really are living in fear at the moment, and it’s not obvious where we can go from here.”
A spokesman for Ashford Borough Council confirmed that the council was working alongside the family, police and social services to try and resolve the situation to the family’s satisfaction.