A CHRISTMAS Eve attacker who tried to “saw at” a man’s arm with a huge carving knife after stabbing him in the heart is behind bars.

Daniel Low was jailed for 15 years for the brutal bloodbath which a jury heard his victim was lucky to survive after going into cardiac arrest. Life-saving surgery was carried out in a hospital’s accident and emergency department because doctors were afraid to move the man to a specialist unit.

Low, of St Pauls Court, Grangetown, near Middlesbrough, later described the repeated slashing of his victim as “like putting a knife through butter”.

The 33-year-old tried to blame a teenager for the attack, but was found guilty after a six-day trial at Teesside Crown Court of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

Lennon Forth, who was 16 at the time, but now 18, started the violence after an all-day drinking session ended at a party at the victim’s home in Middlesbrough. The pair had an argument about the death of a friend of Forth’s, before the teenager repeatedly punched and kicked him in the street and rang Low. The older man was described as “a father figure” to the troubled teen, turned up in Meath Street with a large knife and attacked the man on the ground.

Prosecutor Shaun Dodds told the court that he was stabbed in the side and back and had his heart punctured and suffered horrific injuries to his left arm.

Judge Howard Crowson told Low, who had no previous convictions: “Your victim was lying prone on the ground. He had not assaulted you at all. You delivered repeated blows. You only attacked him when it was absolutely unnecessary, because the fight was over.

“There was absolutely no justification for what you did.”

Patrick Williamson, defending, said Low’s young children would not see him again until their school years, adding: “The situation presented to Daniel Low by the phone call must have been wholly extraordinary for him to behave in the way he did at home and at the scene.”

Forth, of Napier Street, Middlesbrough, was sent to a young offenders’ institution for 18 months despite his lawyer pleading for a suspended sentence.

Michael Bosomworth, mitigating, said he had shown “true and genuine remorse”, helped the police investigation and gave evidence against Low.

“In so far as it was in his power, he has done everything possible from first to last,” he added. “He has had to accept the moral responsibility for being the catalyst.”

In an impact statement, the victim told of flashbacks, nightmares and being afraid to answer his door, but said he forgave his attacker because he follows Islam which teaches forgiveness.