Teenage slasher 'could easily have blinded' victim in Bradley knife attack

A teenager was lucky not to lose an eye when he was slashed in the face.

Now his attacker has been sent to a young offenders institution for four years nine months after the terrifying attack in Bradley.

Luke Atkinson slashed a neighbour in the eye, leaving him needing surgery.

Sentencing Atkinson at Leeds Crown Court yesterday, Recorder Richard Wright QC said on March 5 he had made the “potentially deadly decision” to arm himself with a weapon and use it to slash Arron Taylor across the face.

“That could very easily have resulted in him losing his sight.

“It was luck rather than judgement that didn’t happen and he has made a good recovery.”

Kathryn Stuckey prosecuting told the court at the time the pair lived about 100 yards away from each other in Huddersfield and until a few weeks before the incident there had been no problems between them.

But then things began to deteriorate and Mr Taylor claimed Atkinson was trying to bully him.

On March 5 Mr Taylor had gone to some shops near Bradley Road with a friend and was waiting for that person outside when Atkinson approached.

He then asked: “Who are you staring at?” to which Mr Taylor replied: “It’s you doing all the staring.”

Miss Stuckey said the defendant walked away but a short time later the pair came face to face again and Atkinson swung his fist towards Mr Taylor who realised he had some form of metal blade in his hand.

He was struck on his face as he stepped back and started running towards Bradley Road, Huddersfield. He realised he was being pursued by Atkinson but got away. He phoned his father and when he was collected was driven straight to hospital after reporting he had been stabbed.

Miss Stuckey said he was found to have a laceration through the full thickness of the eyelid and into the glove of the eye which required stitches under general anaesthetic.

Atkinson, 18, now of Thomas Street South, Halifax, admitted wounding with intent.

Nathan Moxon representing him said he was only 17 at the time of the offence and was genuinely remorseful.

He suffered from ADHD and dyslexia as a child which had led to problems and also grew up in a home where his mother was subjected to domestic violence that had led him to have a problem with authority and resort to violence himself for which he accepted he had to be punished.