Woman stabbed 17 times in supermarket: 'I can't feel anger towards my attacker'

Lucy Yates, who was knifed 17 times in a random attack, said: 'I can't feel anger towards the person who did this to me.'

It was feared Miss Yates had been left paralysed, but she has stunned doctors by moving parts of her body.

Her boyfriend, Peter John, has not left her hospital bedside since the attack at Somerfield supermarket in Littlehampton, West Sussex, last week.

Forgiveness: Lucy Yates with her boyfriend of six years, Peter John, before the attack

Peter's father Nick John, the former mayor of Worthing, revealed Lucy's message of forgiveness had been sent by text to his mobile phone.

Mr John said: 'Lucy said neither she nor Peter had feelings of anger against her attacker.

'She is regaining feeling in her feet now and moving her fingers. The hospital staff have been unbelievable the way they've cared for her.'

Doctors hope the 20-year-old can be moved from her intensive care bed into a regular ward by the end of the week.

Accused: Samuel Reid-Wentworth

Mr John expressed sympathy for Lucy's family. 'No parents should have to deal with something like this,' he said.

Lucy and Peter, who have been together since high school, moved from Littlehampton to a flat near the attack scene just three days before the assault.

She had just left her job in a soft furnishings store and Peter was about to start a new clerical position at an East Worthing doctors' surgery.

Paranoid schizophrenic Samuel Wentworth, 21, has been remanded in custody on a charge of attempted murder.

Mrs Yates, speaking from her family home in Pulborough, West Sussex, said: 'Lucy is the most gentle, sweet, kind and loving girl anyone could ever meet.

'She's so strong, and she's making an amazing recovery. She's a living miracle.'

Miss Yates has been transferred from a specialist intensive care unit in Southampton to Worthing Hospital, which is closer to her home.

Her sister Sharon said Miss Yates could remember everything about the attack.
She said: 'She's doing really well. She has been speaking, and her memory is all there.

'Her injuries are mostly around her chest and neck, with only one slash across her cheek - so in that respect, it could have been worse.

'Her boyfriend Peter was due to start a new job on Wednesday, but he's been by her bedside since the attack. She's so strong, the first thing she said to him when she came round was, "What are you doing here? You should be at work".'

Paranoid schizophrenic Samuel Reid-Wentworth, 21, of Bognor Regis, West Sussex, has been remanded in custody accused of attempted murder.

He will appear at Lewes Crown Court on September 29.