'I died three times after being slashed in throat' says Sheffield woman still haunted by nightmares

Amanda Marsh still lives on Kyle Close, in Southey Green, just yards from where she was left in a pool of blood following the attack on Kyle Crescent in September last year, but the 44-year-old is desperate to move away because being there is a constant reminder of the terrible ordeal.

She says the attack has left her afraid to go out, especially since she can still see the blood stain on a path outside her council property, but she claims Sheffield Council has failed to find her a suitable alternative home.

Following the attack on September 22, 2018, Ms Marsh said she was told her heart stopped beating three times – first on the path near her home, again in the ambulance and a third time while she was on the operating table – and she lost four-and-a-half pints of blood.

To make matters worse, she has been assaulted twice more at her home in the last few weeks, on one occasion by a woman who she says smashed one of her windows and scratched her on the neck and on the other by a man who she says left her with a fractured arm.

“In September last year, I went round to my next door neighbour at about 1am to ask her to turn down the music and she slashed my throat with a Stanley knife. I died three times, the first time when I was lying in a pool of blood outside my house,” she said.

“Whenever I go outside I have to walk past the path where I nearly died, where you can still see the blood stain, and it takes me back to the memory of being in my ex-partner’s arms and hearing him screaming ‘she’s dead’.

“I’ve lived in this house for 20 years but I no longer feel safe here. I’m absolutely petrified. I won’t go out of the house, my curtains are always closed and I have to look outside every time I hear the slightest bang. It’s absolutely awful.

“It’s even worse after the recent attacks. I’m so ill with stress and anxiety, I can’t even sleep with the constant nightmares and I can’t go on living here.

“I’ve been asking for a new home for more than a year now but the council will only offer me a one-bedroom home which isn’t suitable because I have a carer who has to stay overnight.

“They won’t listen to me, despite evidence supporting my case from my care worker and doctor.”

Chloe Parker-Thompson, of Kyle Crescent, who was aged 23 at the time of the attack, was sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court in June this year to 30 months in prison after she admitted unlawful wounding.

She was initially charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm (GBH), which she denied, but the prosecution offered no evidence on this count.

South Yorkshire Police said a 46-year-old woman had been arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage to a dwelling and assault, following an incident on Kyle Close on October 19 this year in which the 44-year-old victim was reportedly scratched on the neck before a ground floor window at her property was smashed. A spokeswoman for the force said she had been released under investigation as enquiries continue.

The other incident happened on the afternoon of October 28, when police said it was reported that a man had barged past a woman through the front door of a property on Kyle Close. A police spokeswoman said no further action had been taken against the man involved.

Janet Sharpe, Sheffield Council’s director of housing and neighbourhood services, said: “We are working closely with Ms Marsh with regard to her situation and our local neighbourhood officers are aware of the current position as well. We are doing what we can to help.”

Ms Marsh, whose current home is a two-bedroom semi-detached property, said she suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and depression following the attack, and she also has lung disease.

She said the council had blocked her letterbox up following the attacks to improve security at the address but had yet to repair her window since it was smashed on October 19.