WHILE serving with the Household Cavalry in Afghanistan, soldier Michael Nairn knew only too well the dangers he faced every day.

But it was after leaving the army, for the sake of his three children, that the 27-year-old ended up cheating death on the streets of Poole.

Michael said: “I always knew my life was at risk during my tour in Afghanistan but I still can’t believe that I nearly died in an attack in my home town.”

Bournemouth Crown Court heard how the former soldier had been stabbed with a smashed beer bottle on December 18 last year, following a night-out with a friend.

The jagged glass narrowly missed a main artery in his neck and Michael, who now works in a furniture warehouse, needed 29 stitches.

Adam Sanders, 21, from Stillmore Road, Bournemouth, admitted wounding with intent and was jailed for five years.

Speaking after the case, Michael said: “I’m pleased with the sentence. But he will be out in two and a half years time while I will be scarred for life. My face is still numb and painful; I can’t shave properly anymore.

“Sanders was a total stranger. We were walking home when we came across him. A girl in his group asked for a light and my friend was making a roll-up for them when Sanders pushed me in the chest.

“He apologised but then I saw one of his friends smashing a bottle against a car. I asked him what he was doing and then I saw Sanders with the broken bottle in his hand. I was turning away when he stabbed me; I didn’t think he would do it.

“Fortunately I had medical training in the army and knew what to do with shotgun wounds. I was in a state of shock but took off my shirt to stem the blood flow.

“When I went to Poole Hospital, the doctors said they were amazed I was still alive – the glass had almost cut through a main artery.”

Looking back, Michael says: “Coming so close to death has changed the way I look at everything. I’m nervous now and haven’t been out in town at night since.

“My children are too young to understand; I told them I’d been injured after falling in the snow.

“Sanders and his friends were drinking in the street and it’s made me realise how important it is for shopkeepers to sell alcohol in plastic bottles.

“I feel sorry for his family. I was in court and could hear his mother crying out. But I want to thank the police, particularly PC Keith Palmer, who has been amazing.”