"WHEN I saw him slumped over the chair with blood everywhere I thought he was dead."
These are the words of a son who has "struggled to sleep" ever since his dad suffered from stab wounds last weekend.
Bradley Benbow from Bracknell revealed how his Dad was rushed to hospital in the early hours of Friday morning after being stabbed outside a pub in Station Road.
The 22-year-old set up a fundraising page to support his mum whilst her husband receives treatment in hospital.
It follows an appeal from Thames Valley Police who are investigating an incident where a man in his 50s was rushed to hospital after being stabbed outside The Market Inn pub in Bracknell on Friday, August 22.
One man has been charged with Section 18 GBH in connection to the stabbing incident.
As such, Bradley set up a Go Fund Me page to help the family cope during his dad's time in hospital.
The fundraising page has already reached its goal target of £550 which will help take the stress away from Bradley's mum during visits to hospital and paying for parking.
He explained how the family has come together since his dad was rushed to hospital.
Mr Benbow said: "Dad became redundant in November and in 2019, mum was at work and slipped three disks so she hasn't worked since July 2019. They got by on what dad had left with the redundancy money but I have been the only one working in the household. This money will help mum when she's driving to Royal Berkshire Hospital everyday. It means she can just focus on Dad and not have to worry on anything else.
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"When it happened and mum received the call from police I thought dad was stabbed to death. I saw blood everywhere. I didn't sleep for two days and it has affected everyone in the family mentally. We're not a close family but within 20 minutes we were all there at the hospital."
Bradley said help from the community is greatly appreciated by his mum and the whole family at this time.
He also explained that any money raised above the target will be donated to mental health charity Mind to support the work they do.
Bradley's football team AFC Dukes also donated £50 to help his mum get by during the dad's treatment in hospital, as well as friends and family members.
Bradley said his dad has suffered from a punctured lung from the stab wounds and currently remains in hospital.
On the topic of knife crime, he said: "I don't get it, why? You wouldn't carry a packet of fags and not smoke them so people that carry knives know why they are using them. My sister is upset, traumatised and she's got kids. She moved from London to Reading and stabbings happen often. It's happening everywhere, but you don't expect it to happen to you.
"When I saw him slumped over the chair with blood everywhere I thought he was dead.
"Knife crime is on the up, especially in London but in Bracknell, you don't expect it to happen so close to home."
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