Brother of stab victim to run for Chorley's A&E

MISSION: Chris Knight with his sister Jessica who was attacked by a knifeman

Jessica Knight, who was 14 years old at the time, had been on her way to a friend’s house in Chorley when she was attacked near Astley Park and left for dead.

Thankfully Jessica, who is now 23, was discovered by a passing cyclist who called paramedics.

She was rushed to the A&E department at Chorley and South Ribble Hospital where she spent five hours in surgery.

Now Jessica’s older brother Chris, 26, is running the New York Marathon to raise money for Chorley’s A&E on Sunday, November 6. He wants to raise upwards of £2,000.

He says he wants to see the department brought back to town as his sister would not be alive today had it not been for the medics there.

“Quite simply, without their help my sister wouldn’t be here today,” said Chris.

“It’s to this hospital and their amazing trauma team that I owe my sister’s life too.

“The money raised will go a small way towards the gratitude I will forever have for these people.”

Chorley’s A&E was closed in April but hospital bosses have previously said that the department will reopen part-time probably from January 2017.

Its closure means that patients from the borough have to be taken further afield to A&E departments in Preston, Blackburn or Wigan.

Chorley Hospital Against the Cuts campaigner Steve Turner told the Evening Post that the A&E in Chorley is the reason that Jessica is alive to this day.

To donate {click here|justgiving.com/fundraising/Chrisjamesknight}