Islington stabbing: Mother knifed in London street while three-year-old son sleeps in pram

‘There was no gain, he didn’t even get my phone or bag or anything,’ says nursery worker after teenager knifed her in thigh

A mother was stabbed by a teenager on a north London street while her three-year-old son was sleeping in a pram after she refused to give the attacker her mobile phone.

Christel Stainfield-Bruce, 36, was approached by a boy believed to be aged between 14 and 16 as she pushed her son along Caedmon Road in Islington on Friday afternoon.

The assailant initially asked the woman for directions before telling her “give me your phone”. He stabbed her in the thigh when she said “no” – then ran off without taking the device.

Having wrapped a jumper around the wound and called an ambulance, the 36-year-old received treatment in hospital and is now recovering at home. Doctors said she was lucky the knife missed a major artery.

Ms Stainfield-Bruce said she he was still in shock following her ordeal and was now anxious about leaving the home.

“It feels so unnecessary,” the nursery worker told the BBC. “There was no gain, he didn’t even get my phone or bag or anything, but it must be a symptom of a wider problem.

“What is the state of the country when young children are causing a big wound to people they don’t know, with people you’ve got no history with? What’s going through these people’s heads?”

Her husband Quinn said his wife had not screamed out after being stabbed because she did not want to wake their son, asleep in the pushchair throughout the attack. He said his wife was “insanely lucky” and “could have been paralysed or died”.

Metropolitan Police said officers were called out to the scene of the stabbing shortly before 5pm on Friday.

Investigators are looking for a suspect described as being between 14 and 16 years old who fled towards the Tollington and Holloway road area.

The suspect is described as a black male, 5ft 3ins, of large build. He was wearing dark coloured clothing, including a jacket and a “trucker” style cap at the time of the attack.

Anyone with any information can contact the police by calling 101 quoting CAD6063/07JUN, on Twitter via @MetCC or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.