Exclusive By Phil Coleman

Last updated 12:51, Wednesday, 20 August 2008

A CUMBRIAN couple has told how their 22-year-old son was stabbed 14 times in a horrific street attack.

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Landlord helped:The Throstle’s Nest pub

Police are still hunting the thug who subjected Xenon Charters to a frenzied knife attack on Friday as he walked through Wigton after a night out with friends.

He suffered wounds to his face, neck and body, including one which punctured his stomach and liver.

Incredibly, none of the wounds has proved life-threatening, but Xenon’s parents Jack, 50, and Kathleen, 48, spoke yesterday of how their son fell victim to Britain’s knife-crime culture.

The couple had been at home on Friday evening when they got the call that every parent dreads. Their son’s cousin David Charters phoned to say Xenon was in Wigton and that he had been stabbed.

Jack said: “It was our daughter Shelley, who is 24, who took the call and at first we couldn’t grasp what was going on. We could see that she was upset. Then I spoke on the phone to David, and he told me Xenon had been stabbed.

“He said he was OK and they had called an ambulance. David was trying to reassure me, and seemed calm.”

As their son drifted in and out of consciousness, he was helped by Raymond Clark, landlord of the Throstle’s Nest pub, in King Street, Wigton.

“David tried to reassure us, telling us he was alright, but we just jumped straight in our car and went to the Cumberland Infirmary.

“We were waiting for the ambulance – then it arrived and though Xenon was talking to us and even trying to joke he looked quite bad.

“We’d been expecting a single stab wound, but when we looked at him we realised he’d got wounds to the side of his face, the bridge of his nose, his neck, his back.

“We think there were about 14 wounds in all. We’d not expected that.

“One stab wound punctured the wall of his stomach and punctured his liver. That was the worst wound and that’s why they kept him in.

“On Friday night, the surgeon was telling Xenon that he had no idea how lucky he had been. He could easily have been killed or lost an eye.”

Kathleen said: “We just felt numb. We started to think about how it might have turned out.

“On the night, there were two kids killed with knives, one in London and one in Greater Manchester.”

Although Cumbria police have reassured the public that knife crime in the county is relatively rare, the couple, who run an internet art business called Rewarding Art, have been stunned that their son was so horrifically attacked.

Jack added: “We’ve all been in fisticuffs as youngsters, but to get a knife and stab somebody that many times – I just don’t understand it. You worry about your kids: society seems to have changed. There’s much more violence around.

“You hear about it all the time – about how kids carry knives for protection. It’s crazy. I just can’t understand the mentality of somebody who wants to do that.”

During the attack, which happened at around 10.45pm, Xenon did not at first realise that he was being stabbed and nor did his cousin, said Jack. David Charters gave chase but was unable to catch the knifeman. Xenon is now recovering at his home.

The couple thanked Mr Clark at the Throstle’s Nest for his help and all the well-wishers who had called to express their concern.

Police say their investigation reflects the seriousness of the attack. Witnesses can contact police on 0845 3300 247 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

”PColeman@cngroup.co.uk