A REAL ale campaigner is recovering in hospital after he was stabbed in the heart in an apparently motiveless attack.

Ian Jackson, treasurer of the Darlington branch of the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra), underwent emergency heart surgery after the incident during the early hours of Saturday.

Mr Jackson, head brewer at the Captain Cook Brewery at the White Swan pub in Stokesley, North Yorkshire, had returned from a night out in Barnard Castle when he stopped for a drink in Darlington Snooker Club.

After leaving, he was stabbed in the chest as he walked alone along North Road – suffering an inch-long cut to his heart.

The 42-year-old was taken to Darlington Memorial Hospital and transferred to The James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, where he underwent heart surgery.

Police said he could have died had he not received prompt treatment from passers-by who saw him staggering towards the town centre.

He is expected to be left with a scar from his neck to his navel and is due to remain in hospital for five more days.

Mr Jackson, who lives in Darlington and helps to organise the Darlington Rhythm ’n’ Brews Festival, was too injured to talk.

Friend Pete Everett, who is steward of the Darlington Snooker club and chairman of Darlington Camra, described the incident as shocking.

He said: “He came in here about midnight and was fully coherent. He just sat at the bar and had a chat as he always does, before leaving at around 1.50am.

“You couldn’t meet a nicer man and he didn’t say anything about having any trouble on his way in. He is a respectable man and looks like one.

“He is tired and seems more shaken than anything, but he seems to be getting better.

“He thought he had been punched. He owes his life to the people who helped him by providing first aid.

“Ian and everybody who knows him would like to extend their gratitude to those people, they deserve recognition for what they have done.”

A 15-year-old boy from Darlington appeared before magistrates in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, yesterday charged in connection with the incident.

The boy, who cannot be named because of his age, is charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

He did not enter a plea and was remanded in custody to appear before the youth court sitting at Newton Aycliffe on Monday.

A second 15-year-old boy, also from Darlington, was arrested and bailed pending further inquiries. Anyone with information about the incident has been asked to call police on 0345-60-60-365.