A judge has sentenced a teenager to four and a half years in youth detention after he stabbed a teacher in the head at a school in Pembrokeshire. Judge Thomas KC expressed concern about possible copycat attacks on school staff.
The boy, who was 15 at the time of the attack in February, approached history teacher Vicki Williams when she was alone in a classroom at Milford Haven comprehensive school. He then pulled out a kitchen knife with a 20cm blade and attacked her. Ms Williams managed to take the knife from him before he fled.
Ms Williams sustained a wound to her scalp, scratches on her back, and minor cuts to her hands. Christopher Rees KC, prosecuting, told Swansea Crown Court that the attack was "carefully planned" and that the boy had waited until the teacher was alone. The boy, now 16, was found guilty by a jury of wounding Ms Williams with intent.
Ms Williams told the court she thought she was going to die and has been unable to return to teaching due to post-traumatic stress disorder. Judge Thomas KC noted this was the second such attack in south-west Wales in two years and suggested authorities might need to review security measures to protect teachers.