Walsall victim tells of terrifying knife attack by masked neighbour

David Walton was left with life-changing injuries following the attack at the hands of Scott Coley, then aged 17.

Coley had armed himself with a nine-inch knife, donned dark clothes and a balaclava and let himself into his neighbour's home, before repeatedly stabbing her partner Mr Walton.

Coley, now aged 19, was locked up for 18 years this week after being found guilty of attempted murder.

Mr Walton today told how the attack had devastated his "perfect life" - as he paid tribute to the "guardian angel" he credits with saving his life on that fateful night.

As Mr Walton lay bleeding on the stairs of the home in Hawthorn Road, Shelfield in Walsall, neighbour Pearl Rogers rushed to his aid.

"Pearl had heard the shouting and she came out of her house, ran up the stairs and helped me," said Mr Walton, aged 45.

"She stayed with me for 25 minutes until the paramedics arrived. You just need one calm head in a situation like that and she was mine.

"She saved my life on the stairs that night. She is my guardian angel. She's a very reserved person and wouldn't want to talk about what she did but I want to thank her."

Mr Walton said he was also indebted to the paramedics, police and hospital staff who had helped him following the attack on July 31 2011.

He spent two weeks in hospital, has endured three operations and faces more in the future but injuries to his arm have left him unable to continue his work as an electrician.

"I had a brilliant life, what I would call a perfect life really," said Mr Walton who is father to John, aged 21, and Daniel, 18.

"I loved my job. I used to look forward to getting up every morning to go to work. I went to the gym three times a week since I was 16.

"Now all of a sudden, I'm stuck in the house all the time, worried about what I'm going to do next."

Since the attack, Mr Walton has struggled to sleep at night and finds it difficult to talk about.

"I relive the bit on the stairs over and over and over again," said Mr Walton.

"I'd gone to bed and Tracey, my partner, was in the shower. I'd fallen asleep and the next thing I remember is being woken up to Tracey screaming her head off.

"She'd seen the door open and there was this guy there all in black. I pushed her out of the way and went into the hallway to get him out of the house."

Coley, who had a collection of knives and was high on cannabis duuing the attack, stabbed Mr Walton seven times.

"I was facing death for 20 minutes on those stairs," he said.

"I haven't got an enemy on this planet. I don't understand why he did this."

Coley, of Hawthorn Road, claimed to have had a blackout and said he had unknowingly let himself into his neighbour's house with a key his parents had for emergencies.

The attack has sent shockwaves through Mr Walton's close-knit family, which has rallied round to help him through.

In a statement passed to Judge Robin Onions, sitting at Shrewsbury Crown Court, Mr Walton's mother Carol Ann Whitehead said: "I cannot believe the trauma that the whole family has had to endure and the changes to all our lives mentally, physically and financially as a result of this attack."

"For me to watch my son's physical and mental health drastically change, to watch him struggling just to make a cup of tea, is heartbreaking."

But she said she was proud of her son for standing against his attacker to protect his partner Tracey Haynes and her daughter who were both in the house at the time.