Four-year jail term for man who stabbed ‘lucky to be alive’ boxer in heart

Light welterweight Gwyn Wale was attacked in the street in August last year when friendly banter with another man turned ugly.

As the two men fought, Mr Wale, 27, knocked out the two front teeth of William Lowe – only for him to reply by sticking a six-inch screwdriver into Mr Wale’s chest and back.

One wound punctured the sac surrounding the boxer’s heart and only the prompt arrival of emergency services and the skill of surgeons at Sheffield’s Northern General Hospital saved his life.

Lowe, 45, of Edward Street, Great Houghton, near Barnsley was jailed for four years yesterday after he admitted grievous bodily harm.

Jailing Lowe at Sheffield Crown Court, Judge Simon Lawler told him it could easily have been a fatal incident.

He said: “You are lucky. Your victim went to hospital quickly and there was the skill of the surgeons in managing to repair the injury and stem the blood loss.”

Afterwards Mr Wale said: “I’m glad it is all over. Without my boxing training I might not have survived this. I was in training and was fortunately fit and strong.”