A STAB victim who ‘cheated death’ by centimetres says a great weight has been lifted off his shoulders after his attacker was jailed for six years.

Dan Brown, 28, feels he is lucky to be alive after being stabbed near his home in Charlotte Square, Trowbridge. The blade pierced his lung lining and missed his heart by an inch.

Nearly nine months on from the attack, on Friday Tyrone Triggs was jailed for six years for grievous bodily harm with intent and possession of a knife at Winchester Crown Court.

“I feel a lot better now that it is all over and done with,” Mr Brown told the Wiltshire Times.

“It gives me a bit of peace and mind because this was a very difficult time in my life.

“I do think that the sentence was a bit short, considering his previous convictions.

“There is the worry that he will hold a grudge but I cannot live in fear. I need to live my life to the full. I’m not taking anything for granted.

“I still have trouble breathing at times. I collapsed at my work in November and I have been signed off until April so that I can get back to full strength.

“I am glad that I live in Westbury now with my dad Daryl. After spending five days in hospital, coming back to Trowbridge wasn’t good for me, reliving that scene over again. I cheated death, really.

“I am now taking medication for my anxiety and depression. I am getting better but now it is more of a mental struggle than a physical one. I still have hospital check-ups every two weeks but I am on the mend.”

37-year-old Triggs, who used to live at Grist Court, Bradford on Avon, stabbed Mr Brown on June 9 after getting into an argument about his relationship with a mutual friend.

During the confrontation, Triggs punched Mr Brown and stabbed him in the chest with a retractable knife. He staggered home, where a neighbour helped with first aid until paramedics arrived and he was rushed to Southmead Hospital in Bristol where a pipe was placed into his lung to drain away blood that was building up. The mechanical hygienist, who plays guitar in a heavy metal band called Severed Illusions, was given heavy doses of ketamine, Tramadol and morphine to ease the pain.

Triggs claimed that Mr Brown was waving a sword at him during the fight, but accepted his victim had been disarmed when he used the blade on him.

After the hearing, his brother Carl Triggs said: “Tyrone will do the time and we hope that the police will charge both of them for having an offensive weapon. Six years is befitting of the crime. Tyrone knows he has done wrong and he understands he needs to be punished.”