A teenage Manchester United fan who spent 449 days in hospital after being brutally attacked has learned to walk, talk and write his own name again. James Bascoe-Smith was just 16 years old when he was stabbed multiple times during an assault by a group of masked men.
James had taken his mother's new bicycle for a spin to see if it was '100 per cent rideable' when he was stopped by the gang who left him for dead. While on the floor James was able to facetime his mum to let her know that he'd been attacked and emergency services rushed to the scene in Brixton.
His stab wounds led to catastrophic bleeding and roadside surgery was performed by HEMS doctors, to allow them to perform manual heart massages and compressions. He was defibrillated four times before his heart began beating again, and was effectively dead for 50 minutes while being rushed to hospital.
