A 16-year-old girl stabbed her best friend in the back because she thought she wanted to steal her boyfriend.
Eve Hewitson-Cross, 19, suffered a punctured lung and the blade narrowly missed her spine when she was attacked in Levensgarth Park, Fulwood, Preston.
She was only 17 when she was knifed twice on 1 March last year.
Eve’s attacker, who cannot be named for legal reasons, walked free from court this week when the judge gave her a lenient sentence due to her age and the current COVID-19 pandemic.
The girl was given a two-year rehabilitation order, a ten-year restraining order and will spend three months on a tag.
Eve dropped out of college and now suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and panic attacks.
She has shared graphic images of her injuries as a warning about knife crime.
Preston Crown Court heard the attacker, who was 16 at the time, was two days into a withdrawal from ketamine and ecstasy.
Joshua Bowker, prosecuting, said she went to the park armed with a large kitchen knife in her waistband, grabbed Eve's head and pushed her to the ground.
The court heard she was unhappy at Eve's perceived friendship with the boy.
She grabbed Eve by the head while she sat on a wall listening to headphones and began reigning blows down on her.
Eve fell to her knees and felt blows to her back, before the defendant's boyfriend told her to stop.
She spent three days in hospital, where medics found she had suffered two wounds, measuring 3cm and 4cm.
Sentencing, Judge Parry told the teen: "You heard her today describe how she was drenched in her own blood, particularly her knickers and pants, as the blood cascaded down her back.
"I've seen photos of both those wounds. They are horrendous to look at.
Girl who stabbed best friend in back over fear she’d steal boyfriend is spared jail
Eve Hewitson-Cross, 19, suffered a punctured lung and the blade narrowly missed her spine.
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