Young mum stabbed by 'berserk' stranger with zombie knife on her first night out after giving birth

A mum who was stabbed by a stranger with a zombie knife while on her first night out after giving birth says she is "glad and relieved" the weapon has been banned.

Lauren Foster, 24, was slashed open outside of Revival Bar, Northwich, in November 2021, after stranger Joshua Clow, 18, approached her and went “completely berserk”. Clow had first walked over to Lauren and her friends asking where he could get some drugs – but was turned away by the group, who asked him to leave them alone.

CCTV footage then caught him later charging towards Lauren with the blade in his hand before repeatedly stabbing her on the left arm and back. The new mum suffered deep cuts, including a four-inch wound needing both internal and external stitches.

Joshua Clow, of Brookcot Road in Manchester, appeared in Chester Crown Court in May 2022 and was jailed for six years after the judge said there could easily have been a fatality. He pleaded guilty to wounding with intent, possession of a bladed article and assault.

Meanwhile, Lauren, who says she has been left traumatised by the attack, continues to "remain strong" for her son Jackson, three.

From Tuesday, September 24, it will be illegal to be in possession of a "zombie-style" knife or machete in England and Wales. These are defined as weapons with blades over eight inches long (20cm), usually with a serrated cutting edge. The new legislation will also close a legal loophole, making it an imprisonable offence to own, make, transport or sell the item.

Police data across 32 areas in the UK in 2023 shows bladed weapons were mentioned in more than 14,000 crime logs - with machetes alone making up almost 10,000 of these.

Lauren, a cleaner, from Northwich, Cheshire, says she is "glad and relieved" the new law has been introduced, but that it should have come much sooner. She said: “It's a joke that it has taken this long. This is a law that definitely should've been in place anyway and I'm glad and relieved they're finally doing it to stop things like this happening.

"I think it could help to deter people from committing and involving themselves in these types of crime. But I feel like there are always people who are still going to break the law. Although it may not be that common for things like this to happen, I will always be wary of my surroundings."

Recalling the horrific events from the night, Lauren said: “It all happened so quickly – I didn’t realise what he was doing until it was too late. This was the first time I had been out since having a baby and then this happened. I didn’t know how bad it was until I looked down and saw the white tissue from inside my arm.

Police and paramedics arrived at the scene and rushed Lauren to North Staffordshire Hospital, Staffordshire. The mum suffered deep cuts, one of which needed internal and external stitches, and has been left with permanent scarring. But she has vowed not to let the attack ruin her life. She said: "I don’t feel as though it was long enough for what I went through. He’ll serve around three years, but I’ll have these scars for life. I felt as though the sentence could have been longer.

“The attack has left me mentally scarred as well as physically. But I'm determined not to let it stop me from living my life. I still go on nights out and I'm trying to get back to normal - but it's hard to not feel cautious. I'm more aware if I wear a backless top in case people comment on my scars and there is that thought of it happening again."