Student Ben Frost, who almost died after being stabbed in the chest, spoke today (FRI)of his determination to return to college following his recovery.

Ben, 19, was stabbed in the main heart artery last week as he walked home after a night out in Newcastle, where he is studying music.

Surgeons performed life-saving surgery at the Royal Victoria Infirmary and on Wednesday the teenager was allowed home to Manor Road, Adderbury, near Banbury.

Ben, who is studying music at Newcastle College vowed: "I won't let this put me off. I'm determined to go back to college next term. "What happened was a complete nightmare and now I'm glad to be back home with my family."

After he was stabbed, Ben managed to stumble back to his flat in Arthurs Hill, where his flatmates raised the alarm.

His mum Enid, 51, dad John, 53, and two sisters Sarah, 26, and Hannah, 18, are now taking turns to look after Ben.

Mrs Frost said: "When we got the awful news that Ben had been attacked we got the first available flight to Newcastle. It was a terribly traumatic journey because we didn't know if he was going to be all right." "Nursing staff at the hospital have certainly saved Ben's life. We were told that if the knife had gone in a centimetre either side of the actual wound, he would have died."

Ben's dad John, a production technician with Aston Martin, said he thought he had lost his son and was "elated" when he realised he was going to survive.

He added: "Ben has made a miracle recovery. The nursing staff and police were fantastic and gave us a lot of support."

Ben is a first-year student at Newcastle College studying for a Higher National Diploma in Music Technology.

He was a pupil at Sibford School near Banbury and then studied for a BTEC National Diploma in IT Applications at the town's North Oxfordshire College.

*A 19-year-old Newcastle man appeared before city magistrates charged with attempted murder and attempting to pervert the course of justice. He was remanded in custody.

Story date: Friday 12 March

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.