Leeds Dental Student Shares Horror Story Following Violent Nightclub Attack
A dental student from Leeds University said he feared for his life when he was attacked in the early hours of Sunday morning after a night out in Middlesbrough.
James Riddle, 20, was celebrating his friend’s birthday at The Empire when the group came across a number of men, who started pushing and bumping people around on the dance floor. All of a sudden, James said he felt like he was being punched, but he later discovered that he had actually been stabbed. It was around 2.30 in the morning and James fell to the floor. He was quickly helped by his friends and others, including volunteers from Safe Haven, which provides support for vulnerable people in the city centre. An ambulance was called and James was taken to James Cook University Hospital.
James was due to go back to Leeds to continue his studies later on Sunday and because of this, he had not had much to drink during the night. When he was seen by doctors, they said James had been very lucky because if the knife had slipped even just a couple of centimetres, he could have lost his sight. He suffered a deep laceration on his forehead between the eyes and was also cut on his shoulder.
James said the attack left him “traumatised” and questioned why somebody would be carrying a knife, let alone using it to harm somebody else.
The police are now appealing for information about the incident and are working with the management staff at The Empire to piece together what happened and identify the people involved.
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