Bishop's Waltham attempted murder: Grandmother tells of her terror after being left for dead by pal who slit her throat

Traumatised Julie Page was left in a pool of blood after being stabbed twice in the neck and five times in her back by brutish Paula Ayres.

The horrifying ordeal has since left the 63-year-old terrified of venturing out alone and a ‘prisoner in her own home’.

Courageous Mrs Page has now spoken out about the nightmare attack after Ayres was jailed for 14 years for attempted murder.

‘I thought I was going to die after the attack and that I would never see my husband, son and grandkids ever again,’ she said in a victim impact statement read out at Portsmouth Crown Court by prosecutor, Simon Jones.

‘As I laid there on the floor I actually believed I was going to die. I cannot stop this going through my head, it makes me want to burst into tears every time it comes into my mind.’

Mrs Page was knifed by callous mother-of-three Ayres after discovering her pal of six years had pilfered £3,900 from her bank account during their weekly bingo trips to Eastleigh.

Ayres, fearing she was about to be exposed, took a Stanley knife from her home in Willow Road, Bishop’s Waltham, before ambushing Mrs Page in her nearby terrace house in Oak Road, on July 22, 2019.

Grabbing her from behind, Ayres plunged the knife twice into Mrs Page’s neck in a bloody attempt to slit her throat and silence her before then stabbing her five more times in the back and ripping Mrs Page’s ear.

She was apprehended by police after returning to her home, with officers discovering the bloodied knife in her washing machine.

Mrs Page admitted the attack had left her both emotionally and physically scarred.

‘I fear this has changed my life forever,’ she said. ‘I will never be able to trust anyone ever again or be alone with anyone.

‘I am uncomfortable about being back in my home and this has wiped out my 30 years of good memories of living in my home and in the area.

‘I’m already thinking about counselling because I am struggling to cope with what has happened.’

She added: ‘I will never feel safe in my own home again or anywhere at this point in time.

‘I never used to lock my front door but now fear that it will be permanently locked.

‘I’m scared seeing all my friends again and being constantly reminded of what happened during that day when I was nearly murdered.’

Ayres will serve at least seven years behind bars before being released on licence.