Boy, 15, found guilty of attempting to murder 13-year-old girl with a sword

A “defenceless” teenager “is lucky to be alive” after she was attacked with a sword by a 15-year-old boy, police have said.

Detectives were speaking after they confirmed the boy was found guilty of attempted murder at Hull Crown Court on Wednesday.

Humberside Police said the teenage victim, who was 13 when she was attacked and is now 14, appeared at the side of the A63 near the Humber Bridge in Hessle, East Yorkshire, on November 1 last year with multiple injuries and asking for help from motorists.

The girl had severe injuries to her neck, abdomen, chest and back and was in hospital for three weeks, they said.

Detective Superintendent Simon Vickers, who led the investigation, said both teenagers were part of a group who had arranged to go camping but there was an argument.

Mr Vickers said: “Feeling unwelcome, the teenage girl became uncomfortable and decided that she was going to leave when one of the boys offered to walk her through the wooded area.

“Her attacker then pursued the pair insisting that he would walk with her, and the other teenager returned to the camp site.

“What the girl didn’t know was that he intended to stab her.

“As the pair started walking, the girl saw the 15-year-old pull a knife from the waist band of his trousers after pretending to go to the toilet and she attempted to flee to safety.

“The boy then pushed her to floor before proceeding to repeatedly stab her.”

The senior detective said his officers recovered a katana sword from one of the tents near where the girl was found.

Mr Vickers said one the girls had taken the sword from a relative’s knife collection and this was was passed around the camping group before the teenage boy used it in the attack.

He said: “This was an unnecessary and sustained attack on a young, innocent, and defenceless teenage girl who is lucky to be alive.

“The level of injuries that she sustained were brutal and I cannot begin to imagine the sheer strength and determination that it must have taken for her to navigate away from her attacker and seek help from members of the public.

“I’d like to commend her for her courage throughout the course of the investigation, court proceedings and whilst she continues with her ongoing recovery. The mental scars of the horrific experience she endured will undoubtedly stay with her for the rest of her life.”

Mr Vickers added: “It is really important to educate our communities that by possessing some types of knives, even just at home, they could be committing a criminal offence.

“It is also crucial to mention the fact that even if they are not the one carrying a knife, but were there when a knife was wielded, they too could suffer the criminal consequences.”

The defendant, who cannot be named, denied attempted murder but pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm and possession of a bladed article.

He was convicted of attempted murder after a six-day trial on Wednesday, police confirmed.

The boy will be sentenced on April 4.