Survivor speaks out as knife thug found guilty

Oct 16 2009 by Lisa Boyle

THE THUG who tried to kill me won’t ruin my life.

That was the pledge from brave Gareth Steven after the man who robbed and tried to murder him was found guilty.

He spoke out after justice finally caught up with Alistair Thomson – who left him for dead following the brutal attack in a Prestwick car park.

Gareth said: “Every time I put a shirt on I’ll be reminded of what happened to me that night.”

The jeweller almost bled to death after Thomson plunged a six-inch blade into his chest.

But following a miracle recovery, he is back behind the counter of his family jewellery shop, Mary Jane in Prestwick.

Speaking to the Ayrshire Post the day after Thomson was found guilty at the High Court in Kilmarnock, Gareth spoke of his relief at the verdict.

He said: “I’m very pleased, it’s been a long couple of years for me and my family.”

The 29-year-old businessman chased Thomson after he robbed him of his briefcase containing £40,000 worth of jewellery in November 2007.

When cornered, the vicious thug stabbed Gareth and left him for dead.

Gareth recalled: “I was just incredibly angry that this was happening to me. I chased him in the heat of the moment.

“Someone was trying to take something I’d worked hard for.

“I just thought ‘this shouldn’t be happening to me, I’m not going to sit back and let this roll’.

“I get up in the morning and I work all day running a business. Someone wanted what I had, but they weren’t willing to put in the hard work and perspiration to get it.”

And he has no doubt Thomson intended using a knife that night.

He continued: “When someone leaves the house with a knife, they are not worried about the possible consequences of using it.

“If they use it, it is a life-changing moment for everyone concerned, the victim, the victim’s family and friends, and least of all the perpetrator.”

Gareth believed he was going to die as he lay in a pool of blood.

He revealed: “I was in no doubt I was going to die, it was the most bizarre thing. I just thought ‘this is it.’

“But you don’t think ‘oh no, I’m dying’, you think about everyone else.

“I asked for my mum and dad and I asked the women from the clinic to tell them I loved them.

“I have a friend who had just got married and I asked that they tell her I’m glad she’s happy.”

Gareth sustained horrific internal injuries.

His lung was punctured through and through, he had a hole in his stomach, his liver was cut and a hole in his diaphragm allowed Gareth’s small bowel to move into his chest cavity.

But thanks to the amazing work of surgeons, he survived.

He continued: “Dr Ali is the most phenomenal person I have ever met. There’s no doubt if he hadn’t been walking past the emergency room I was in that night, I wouldn’t be here today.

“There are a million things you think about that could have happened though. The ambulance service had a helicopter waiting to ferry me to Edinburgh, but I’d never have made it to Edinburgh.

“If the two girls hadn’t been working in the clinic that night, if the clinic had been closed or if they had nipped out for a cup of tea, I would have died.”

Within weeks, Gareth was back at work. He said: “If you don’t get back into it as soon as possible it gives the impression that it’s open season. You have to get on with your life and not let people like that beat you.

“We are a really strong family unit and I’ve been extremely lucky to have great support from family, friends and my very loyal clients.”

And he heaped praise on the professionals who dealt with Gareth’s case.

He said: “Everyone I’ve had to deal with have been utterly committed and professional people.

“The people who work within the NHS are extraordinary people who do an outstanding job and the police are exactly the same. They have been dedicated to seeing this through from start to finish.”

Thomson will be sentenced next month.