A Fife family are in fear for their lives as the knifeman who attacked them is today set to be released from prison.
The Thomsons stepped up security at their home in Rosyth after learning that Hugh Clark would be out on licence, having served two-thirds of his eight-and-a-half-year sentence for the attempted murder of mum Ena and the assault to injury and permanent disfigurement of her son Nathan, who was just nine at the time.
In November 2007, brave Nathan tried to save his mother by leaping on to Clark’s back during the attack. But the assailant shook him off and confronted him before stabbing him in the face with a kitchen knife.
On his release, court orders will prevent Clark from entering Rosyth or Inverkeithing while he is on licence. But Mrs Thomson, 39, said he should have served the full sentence in jail.
“I think if you get a sentence, you should serve the full time but obviously the justice system has different ideas. I think it’s a joke to be honest,” she said.
“We had to get CCTV cameras up and things like that. We had to do that ourselves.”
During her ordeal, Mrs Thomson was stabbed eight times. She was rushed to hospital for emergency surgery and spent four days on a life support machine.
Nathan, now 15, was described by judge Lord Brodie as an “extremely courageous young man” when Clark appeared at the High Court in Glasgow in 2008.
His courage was also recognised by First Minister Alex Salmond, who highlighted his actions at the Scottish Parliament.
Mrs Thomson spoke of how proud she was of her son.
“Even back then, Nathan just took everything in his stride. As he looked upon it, he did something anybody else would have done.
“He got a bit fed up of all the publicity but he went back to school and it was fine.”
Nathan’s sister Shannon, now 17, jumped out of an upstairs window to escape the terrifying episode.
She was caught by a neighbour, who encouraged her to jump after she appeared at the window shouting “my mum’s been stabbed, my mum’s been stabbed”.
Shannon is about to start college, having done well in her exams.
Mrs Thomson said having Clark locked up gave the family a bit of breathing space.
She is now worried about what the future holds, with the family claiming they have received death threats.
“We didn’t worry about the kids being out so much while he was in jail. Now, I’m just basically being more vigilant while out and about. I won’t be going anywhere myself. I’m just being extra careful.”
According to the family, the authorities failed to keep them updated on Clark’s case. They only found out he was up for parole through a journalist friend.
“One of my friends is a freelance journalist and he mentioned it. He said they had lost me in their system,” said Mrs Thomson.
She added: “We received a letter a few weeks ago saying he was due for release. I knew it was coming to be honest but that’s when it became real, when the letter came through the door.”
Local councillor Mike Shirkie said he had been in touch with the family.
“I know Ena is very concerned and I will be monitoring the situation,” he said.