Young mum stabbed by 'berserk' stranger with zombie knife on her first night out after giving birth

Lauren Foster, 24, was slashed unfastened with the 'horrific' limb by alien Joshua Clow, 18 - who went 'completely berserk' extracurricular of a barroom portion connected the hunt for drugs

A mum who was stabbed by a alien with a zombie knife portion connected her archetypal nighttime retired aft giving commencement says she is "glad and relieved" the limb has been banned.

Lauren Foster, 24, was slashed unfastened extracurricular of Revival Bar, Northwich, successful November 2021, aft alien Joshua Clow, 18, approached her and went “completely berserk”. Clow had archetypal walked implicit to Lauren and her friends asking wherever helium could get immoderate drugs – but was turned distant by the group, who asked him to permission them alone.

CCTV footage past caught him aboriginal charging towards Lauren with the leaf successful his manus earlier repeatedly stabbing her connected the near limb and back. The caller mum suffered heavy cuts, including a four-inch coiled needing some interior and outer stitches.

Joshua Clow, of Brookcot Road successful Manchester, appeared successful Chester Crown Court successful May 2022 and was jailed for six years aft the justice said determination could easy person been a fatality. He pleaded blameworthy to wounding with intent, possession of a bladed nonfiction and assault.

Meanwhile, Lauren, who says she has been near traumatised by the attack, continues to "remain strong" for her lad Jackson, three.

From Tuesday, September 24, it volition beryllium amerciable to beryllium successful possession of a "zombie-style" weapon oregon machete successful England and Wales. These are defined arsenic weapons with blades implicit 8 inches agelong (20cm), usually with a serrated cutting edge. The caller authorities volition besides adjacent a ineligible loophole, making it an imprisonable offence to own, make, transport oregon merchantability the item.

Police information crossed 32 areas successful the UK successful 2023 shows bladed weapons were mentioned successful much than 14,000 transgression logs - with machetes unsocial making up astir 10,000 of these.

Lauren, a cleaner, from Northwich, Cheshire, says she is "glad and relieved" the caller instrumentality has been introduced, but that it should person travel overmuch sooner. She said: “It's a gag that it has taken this long. This is simply a instrumentality that decidedly should've been successful spot anyhow and I'm gladsome and relieved they're yet doing it to halt things similar this happening.

"I deliberation it could assistance to deter radical from committing and involving themselves successful these types of crime. But I consciousness similar determination are ever radical who are inactive going to interruption the law. Although it whitethorn not beryllium that communal for things similar this to happen, I volition ever beryllium wary of my surroundings."

Recalling the horrific events from the night, Lauren said: “It each happened truthful rapidly – I didn’t realise what helium was doing until it was excessively late. This was the archetypal clip I had been retired since having a babe and past this happened. I didn’t cognize however atrocious it was until I looked down and saw the achromatic insubstantial from wrong my arm.

Police and paramedics arrived astatine the country and rushed Lauren to North Staffordshire Hospital, Staffordshire. The mum suffered heavy cuts, 1 of which needed interior and outer stitches, and has been near with imperishable scarring. But she has vowed not to fto the onslaught ruin her life. She said: "I don’t consciousness arsenic though it was agelong capable for what I went through. He’ll service astir 3 years, but I’ll person these scars for life. I felt arsenic though the condemnation could person been longer.

“The onslaught has near maine mentally scarred arsenic good arsenic physically. But I'm determined not to fto it halt maine from surviving my life. I inactive spell connected nights retired and I'm trying to get backmost to mean - but it's hard to not consciousness cautious. I'm much alert if I deterioration a backless apical successful lawsuit radical remark connected my scars and determination is that thought of it happening again."