THE disfiguring injuries caused by a frenzied knife attack have left the brave victim worried about how his daughter will react to his scars as he battles to rebuild his life.

The traumatic physical and psychological scars of the ferocious knife attack on James Gillott were revealed in his harrowing victim impact statement, read out in Worcester Crown Court.

Meanwhile, the detective who led the investigation praised Mr Gillott’s courage after he gave evidence against Richard Smith, the man who launched the savage and sustained cocaine-fuelled attack in the victim’s one bedroom groundfloor flat in Malvern.

Paranoid from snorting the class A drug, Smith wrongly believed his victim had ‘hacked’ his computer, a claim the judge said was without justification.

Mr Gillott was bludgeoned about the head with a metal storage heater before being stabbed 24 times in the head, neck, back and hands in his own home by his former friend with whom he had previously taken drugs.

The attack was so brutal that the victim’s ear was left hanging off, the onslaught only coming to an end when the knife snapped and Mr Gillott smashed his own kitchen window with a mug tree and called for help.

Smith received a 23 year sentence for attempted murder at Worcester Crown Court on Friday following the attack on November 13 last year.

Mr Gillott was not in court to hear the sentence but his victim impact statements were read out to the court by prosecutor Rebecca Wade.

Mr Gillott, who had to have his ear partially amputated, said he had suffered nerve damage including partial numbness to the left hand side of his face and slash wounds across his neck.

He said: “My ear will always be disfigured and my smile always lop-sided.”

The father said he had even considered getting tattoos to cover up some of his scars. “In particular I’m worried about my daughter seeing it (a scar) and her asking me about it” he said.

He has also seen a doctor about suspected post-traumatic shock disorder after suffering nightmares, flashbacks and sleep difficulties, becoming ‘quite paranoid when walking around outdoors on my own’.

Mr Gillott also said he had found it hard to return to his Fortis flat where the attack happened and had moved out of Malvern.

“The injuries have not only changed my life since it happened but have changed my life forever” he said.

Officer in the case DC Joshua Hunt, after the sentence, said: “The attack on the victim has left him with scars that he will live with for the rest of his life and therefore the defendant has rightly received a lengthy custodial sentence and will be unable to cause such suffering to anybody else for a considerable length of time. I would again like to take this opportunity to thank the victim for his bravery throughout this process.”

Smith, previously of North Malvern Road, looked sombre when he was taken down by the dock officers having already served nearly a year on remand.

Members of Smith’s family, including his mum, sobbed in the waiting area outside the court.

The prison sentence itself was 18 years but five years extended licence was added to it because he was deemed dangerous by the judge, making it a 23 year sentence in total.

Smith must serve at least two thirds of the 18 years (12 years in all) before he can be considered for release by the Parole Board. The longest sentence he had served before this was 12 months.

Graham Henson, who represented Smith, said he was remorseful, adding: “He’s ashamed of that which he did to Mr Gillott and also deeply distressed that he’s going to miss the bringing up of his own two children.”

He had argued on the day of sentence that Smith was not ‘inherently dangerous’ and that the psychiatrist had said his client would only be at risk of further offending if he used drugs or alcohol.

However, judge Nicholas Cole, who did find Smith dangerous, said: “Given the number of cases where drugs have entered the prison system, the court has to be realistic.”

Mr Henson also gave an insight into Smith’s life on remand, describing how his client had already achieved enhanced prisoner status which took him around six months.

“There was, almost immediately after this incident, the most obvious show of remorse and the attempt on his own life by the defendant himself” he said.

Smith has also been taking courses in dealing with trauma, drug rehabilitation and anger management.

“Within the prison system he’s behaving impeccably and taking all the courses that he possibly can” said Mr Henson.