A TEENAGER who was stabbed in the neck in an unprovoked attack on Portland feared he was dying as blood gushed down his shirt.

Ryan Burrows was knifed after being approached from behind by two younger teenagers as he stood with friends outside the Britannia Inn, Fortuneswell.

The wound required three stitches and doctors told the teenager he was lucky it was not deeper or he could have died or been paralysed.

The 19-year-old, who lives in Weston, had been celebrating at the pub after attending his brother’s darts presentation evening on the island.

He said: “We went back to the Britannia Inn and I’d gone outside to see my girlfriend who was smoking.

“I saw my mate’s little brother and went over to speak to him.

“The next thing I know two lads aged 16 or 17 have come around the back of me.

“They said something and I turned around and they stabbed me in the neck.

“I didn’t know what had happened but felt all the blood down my shirt.

“I stumbled over to the pub and a couple of people helped me in and sat me down.

“The people in the pub were really good to me, even though they were in shock as well.

“It’s all a bit fuzzy but I remember getting in the ambulance and my shirt being cut off me.”

He added: “It was a bit of a shock really, totally out of the blue – there were no arguments beforehand.

“In the ambulance I asked if I was going to die and they reassured me I wasn’t.

“There was so much blood, it was scary.

“The doctors said I was really lucky because if it had been any deeper I could have died or been paralysed.

“That’s not a good thing to hear.”

The teenager was taken to Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester for stitches following the attack, which happened in the early hours of Sunday – his mum’s birthday.

His 16-year-old girlfriend was punched in the face by the attackers but did not require hospital treatment.

Ryan said since the attack he had felt worried about leaving his home because the attackers were ‘still out there’.

He added: “I think people using any weapons are just stupid really.

“I just want them to get caught.”

His mother hit back at allegations that her son was involved in a fight outside St John’s Church in Fortuneswell on Friday night, prior to the Saturday night stabbing.

She said: “My son was not involved in a fight on Friday, he was working. He is now recovering at home with a very stiff neck.”

Tracey Brown, the landlady of the Britannia Inn, also defended the 19-year-old, and said: “It was a completely unprovoked attack.

“This lad had been with us all at a darts presentation and he just went outside to see his girlfriend when he was stabbed in the neck.

“From what I can gather it was a pretty random attack.

“The lad’s girlfriend got punched in the face as well.”

She added: “Apparently it involved two lads who are not old enough to drink.

“Nothing did occur inside the pub, and it was nothing to do with the fracas on Friday night.”

A Dorset Police spokesman said no one had been arrested and they were continuing their appeal for witnesses to call 01305 222222 in confidence.