LIFE-SAVING travel agent staff who gave emergency treatment to a stab victim have won praise from a judge.

Beverley Carter and Elizabeth Hampshire, from WA Shearings in Huddersfield, administered first aid to Bryan Astin when he was slashed outside their John William Street office by Adbul Hakim last May.

Cocaine user Hakim, 47, was yesterday found guilty of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm by a jury at Bradford Crown Court.

Jailing him for six-and-a-half years, Judge Jonathan Rose praised the quick-thinking of Miss Carter and Mrs Hampshire.

He told Hakim: “It’s a miracle you did not take that man’s life.”

Hakim, of no fixed address, slashed Mr Astin with a knife on May 20.

He claimed Mr Astin and another man had stolen property from him earlier that day, but Judge Rose described the knife attack as premeditated and dreadful.

He dismissed Hakim’s excuse, adding: “If, and it is a very big if, they had stolen your property all you had to do was call the police.

“It is important to appreciate in this case the significant gap between them leaving your flat and this dreadful offence of violence that you committed.”

He said there was no doubt Hakim had made a determined decision to go and search out one or both of the men and do terrible violence to them.

Judge Rose said Hakim had told lie after lie about the incident and he had been convicted by the jury on overwhelming evidence.

The court heard that Mr Astin suffered a 15cm slash wound to the left hand side of his chest and another slash wound to his forehead.

After the lunchtime attack Mr Astin managed to walk into WA Shearings.

Miss Carter told the Examiner blood was pouring from his chest and head when he staggered into the office.

She said: “He came into the office saying: ‘I have been stabbed.’

“It looked like it was life-threatening and I did what anybody with basic first aid training would do.

“We sat him down and applied pressure to the wound to stop the blood and continued to talk to him.

“You just go onto autopilot.

“You’re not thinking about who that person might be or why it might have happened. You’re just thinking it’s a human life and you have to do everything you can to try to save their life.”

She said she and Mrs Hampshire tried to establish what had happened. Mrs Hampshire spoke to witnesses outside the office until police and the ambulance arrived.

The pair received a commendation from the Kirklees divisional commander of West Yorkshire Police which now hangs on the wall in the travel agents.

The citation reads: “For quick thinking and professional action when providing first aid to a victim who had suffered a knife wound and supporting colleagues from the ambulance service.”

The court heard it was pure chance the slash wound to Mr Astin’s chest had not damaged any internal organs or arteries.

Judge Rose said it was very much to the credit of Miss Carter and Mrs Hampshire that they had helped him when he arrived at their premises.

He added the first aid given to Mr Astin may well have aided his speedy recovery.

Miss Carter said: “At the time I didn’t really have time to think about it and I just thought it was a job well done.

“But afterwards, when I started to think about what had happened it was a mixture of shock and relief.”