Police and public praised for saving the life of Banbury man stabbed in park

Chief constable Jason Hogg presented police officers Beth Foster and Alex Ayckbourn alongside Darren Nicholson, Ivan Dinev and a woman, who is remaining unnamed, with awards for their actions following the attempted murder.

The 21-year-old victim of the attack sustained life-threatening injuries, including a punctured lung, after he was stabbed multiple times by a 17-year-old boy in the park in June 2022.

The unnamed woman was the first on the scene and used first aid items she had in her backpack to apply pressure to the victim’s wounds while asking for help.

She removed sections of the victim’s clothing to locate where he was wounded and placed him in the recovery position, while Darren applied pressure on wounds to the victim’s back until the ambulance crew arrived.

Ivan helped by using some of his clothing to also apply pressure to the victim’s injuries while speaking to the emergency services call handler until help arrived at the park.

Once PC Foster and PC Ayckbourn arrived at the scene, they were quickly able to speak to the victim to keep him responsive, assess his injuries and direct other officers to the park.

A police spokesperson said: “These actions, along with those from the members of the public, were instrumental in saving his life.”

PC Ayckbourn said: “I feel really honoured to receive this award, especially as I was just carrying out my duty.”

PC Foster added: “I am so grateful to receive this commendation. Incidents like this are what we join the job for. I am so pleased that the victim has made a full recovery.”

Darren said: “Witnessing that event that took place is something that I will never forget. I feel grateful and honoured to be accepting this award.”

The 17-year-old was sentenced to 12 years’ in youth custody after he was found guilty of attempted murder at Oxford Crown Court on May 12 last year.