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Potter actor's friend taking first steps on road to health
Benedict Moore-Bridger, Evening Standard16 Jul 2008
A young man feared paralysed in a knife attack which left Harry Potter star Rob Knox dead could be home within weeks, doctors have said.
Dean Saunders, 21, was one of five friends injured in the knife attack outside a bar in Sidcup on 23 May.
Mr Saunders was stabbed in the neck as he tried to fend off a thug during the fight, thought to have been sparked by a row over a mobile phone.
His wound was so deep doctors feared it had irreversibly damaged his spinal cord. But the 21-year-old has battled back to fitness - he can now stand unassisted and is even able to take a few steps using crutches.
A friend said: "Everyone is stunned at the way Dean is battling back.
"The night Rob died will leave all of us with scars and Dean's were deeper than most but it's great to see some good come out of that night. Rob would be proud of him - we all are."
Mr Knox, 18, had just finished filming his role as Marcus Belby in forthcoming blockbuster Harry and the Half-Blood Prince when he was fatally stabbed. He had stepped in to save his 17-yearold brother Jamie from a knife-wielding thug who had allegedly been threatening him.
When the actor was attacked his friends - Andrew Dormer, Nicky Lee Jones, Charlie Grimley and Tom Hopkins - tried to help him.
Mr Saunders is undergoing specialist treatment with a team of spinal experts at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Buckinghamshire.
Unemployed Karl Bishop, 21, has been charged with murder and wounding with intent. He is due to appear at the Old Bailey on 2 September.
