Sugababe’s Lover Reveals Nightmare

WARNING: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS GRAPHIC CONTENT

THE butchered boyfriend of Sugababes star Amelle Berrabah has relived his blood-drenched nightmare in a horrific machete attack that almost killed him. Freddie Fuller told how he repeatedly dodged the razor-sharp blade as his assailant tried to hack off his head. His left arm and right thumb were left hanging off - while blood pumped from gaping wounds in his skull, right leg and hand.

Since the Christmas Eve attack Freddie has been recovering in hospital with distraught Amelle, 23, by his side. He told the News of the World: "Amelle's been my rock throughout this ordeal - I love her more than ever."

She said: "He was left for dead. It was horrific - like a nightmare but worse because it was real."

The wannabe actor and ex-tree surgeon, 25, was set upon after a night out with his pals and pop star girfriend at Yates wine bar in Aldershot, Hants. He was walking from the pub and into the town centre at around 11.30pm when he sensed he was being followed down a quiet side street. Speaking from his hospital bed, shaken Freddie recalled: "Something told me to look over my shoulder. I don't know if it was a sixth sense but as I did I saw a silver blade flash past my eyes and on to my elbow. I looked down and saw the blade heading back up. I thought 'What the hell' and tried to lift my left hand to stop another blow. But I couldn't move it. I looked down and saw my arm had almost been cut in half - I could see where the bones and tendons had been severed. The only thing keeping it on was the muscle on the side. Then out raced the blood. "I just shouted out: 'You f***ing idot - you chopped off my arm.' But before I could take another breath, I felt a cut come across the left arm and I could see blood gushing out. "It was flowing so fast, there was a puddle on the ground. I kept shouting "Get me an ambulance!" But the attacker simply walked round to Freddie's front and took a swing at him head-on.

Terrified Freddie, who lives with chart-topper Amelle, tried to run to the Queen Victoria pub just 30 yards away - but slipped on pools of his own his blood and fell down. He recalled: "I heard the blade whistle through the air and saw it in the street lights heading towards my head. I tried to half-kick the weapon away. It seemed to have worked but then came this almighty searing pain in my left leg. The blade had chopped through some of my upper leg, just below the knee and above the shin - like a knife through butter. The sound of it reminded me of a butcher throwing a knife into a piece of steak. There was a quiet crack then the blade sinking into flesh. I looked down at my leg, and the blood was oozing out. But I think kicking out saved my life."

To his horror Freddie then realised he had other ghastly injuries. He said: "My leg had stopped me losing my head but the blade had still got through to the top of the skull, slicing my hand on the way down. My thumb was just hanging off my hand, limply flapping around. All the muscles and ligaments were sliced away, and more blood started seeping from that wound. But I felt I had to ignore any bleeding to survive. My adrenaline kicked in and I knew I had to do the best I could to save myself." As he lay helplessly on the ground, the swordsman repeatedly brought the 25in blade down on him.

Freddie - who Amelle has said she wants to marry - said: "It was coming down from the side and I feared it was going to behead me. I was trying to follow the blade and duck away at the last second. Several times I saw the blade crash into the ground, just millimetres from my face. Sparks flew up, and the smell was like gunpowder. At that point I didn't think I would see Christmas Day. But I was too scared to roll away in case my arm fell off completely. A couple of strikes grazed my legs, taking off the top layer of skin. As the last swing came down, I had no choice but to raise my right hand. I could hear the crack of the metal into my bones as it sliced through my muscle tissue. It left a V-shaped wedge, separated from the back of my hand. I see could the bones, and more blood bubbled away. But I was very lucky to be alive."

As Freddie struggled in a pool of blood he heard a woman screaming nearby. Those screams saved his life. The attacker booted him in the thigh and fled. Freddie dragged himself to the Queen Victoria pub and yelled to bouncers to help him. He said: "I just remember seeing everyone in the pub screaming and being hysterical. I must have looked like something from a horror movie. I had blood pouring out of me non-stop. I just couldn't contain the bleeding coming from everywhere. The only way to describe it was like I had been dipped into a bowl of warm custard - but the liquid was actually blood. As I waited for the medics I was terrified I would pass out and never regain consciousness. I sat on a chair and battled to keep awake. A mate of mine sat with me, doing his best to jam the halves of my left arm back together to stop the bleeding. Others tried to tie string around the limb to stop the blood." An ambulance arrived and he was rushed to Frimley Park Hospital.

Freddie said: "Someone phoned Amelle and she came to the hospital straight away. When she saw me I knew things were really bad. She burst into floods of tears but said: 'It's gonna be all right.' Since then she has been by my side all the time - she has been my angel. She has been very, very brave for me, and so supportive." By the time he got to hospital Freddie had lost FOUR PINTS of blood. The lethal limit is normally 3½. He was given an emergency blood transfusion straight away. Then he had a SIX-HOUR operation on Christmas Day morning. The severed bones in his arm were fixed in place with screws and wires. Then the muscles, soft tissues and nerve were stitched on. Severed tendons on the back of his hand and thumb were repaired with delicate microsurgery. And the wound on his thigh had to be stiched on the inside and outside. In total he was given nearly 100 STITCHES. Doctors fear it could take up to two years for him to recover.

Freddie has had three more blood transfusions in the last few days. He said: "The doctors have told me I am lucky to be alive, based on the amount of blood I lost. I really thought as the machete kept coming at me, 'This blow will cut me in half - I am going to die here.' But I was not actually in that much pain My adrenaline was pumping, and something inside was telling me to stay alive. "It's difficult to explain but none of what was happening felt real. I was fighting to survive. Now, as I sit in bed feeling really screwed up, I keep replaying that night in my mind." Doctors have told Freddie he will need constant care for eight weeks, followed by months of rehabilitation.

Caring Amelle, who replaced Sugababe Mutya Buena in 2005, has told him she plans to book him into a private hospital and pay for his treatment. She's said about his ordeal: "How one person can do that to another I don't know. I just hope Freddie can come through this, that is all I am thinking about. I haven't slept since it happened - I have been so worried." She added: "I brushed his teeth this morning and washed his face because he can't do anything himself at the moment. I watch every flicker of his eyes to see how he's doing."

On New Year's Eve, Amelle will briefly break her bedside vigil to perform with fellow Sugababes Keisha Buchanan and Heidi Range at London's O2 arena with Take That - as she does not want to let down her fans.

Meanwhile cops are investigating the attack on Freddie. A 28-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and released on police bail. In recent years knife crime has spiralled in Britain. One shocking report claimed an offence involving a blade was committed every 24 MINUTES. And figures from 37 police forces, revealed there were 5,500 serious knife crimes in just three months this year. They included 55 kniferelated murders and 2,000 stabbings. Meanwhile victim Freddie is concentrating on recovering from his ordeal. He said: "I could not do it without Amelle. I would be lost without her - she is my world."

Source: News of the World