A boy left fighting for his life in a knife attack that rocked Sutton on Friday, told a mother how he could not breathe as he lay bleeding on the pavement.

Sarah Biggs, 46, was on her way to buy a pint of milk from the parade of shops in Rose Hill, when she heard a teenager screaming: "My mate’s been stabbed, my mate’s been stabbed."

Ms Biggs, who is a mother herself, then saw a 15-year-old boy slumped on the ground opposite KFC.

Speaking exclusively to the Sutton Guardian, Ms Biggs told of the minutes that were ‘frozen in time’, as she spoke with him calmly until an ambulance came.

She said: "He was in a state of shock, he kept saying he couldn’t breathe.

"He told me his name was Eddie, but that was it. I was just trying to reassure him, trying to talk to him normally because he was in such a state of shock.

"Cars were going past, but even though it is a busy area, there was no one around. 

"It was the strangest thing, in those two to three minutes we were frozen in time.

"There was a PCSO (police community support officer) there before me, and I put my coat under the boy’s head after putting him into the recovery position.

"I held his hand until emergency services arrived. He was conscious the whole time but I was certain he was going to die."

Ms Biggs, who lives in Green Lane, Morden, said police pulled up in Rose Hill roughly two to three minutes after she got there, with an ambulance following shortly after.

It is unclear who called the emergency services, but it is likely to have been the PCSO already tending to the boy when Ms Biggs was walking past.

The 15-year-old was knifed in the back on a 151 bus, as it made its way up Angel Hill in Carshalton at around 2.30pm on Friday.

Police say he walked roughly 250 yards before collapsing on the ground opposite a parade of shops in Rose Hill.

He was taken to St Helier Hospital and treated in the resuscitation unit, with police reporting he had life-changing or life-threatening injuries.

Police released a statement later that night saying he was in a stable condition.

Ms Biggs, who used to work as a carer for Epsom and Ewell Council, described the boy as white, and his friend as mixed race.

She continued: "It’s so frightening that it was in broad daylight. It happened on a bus in broad daylight.

"I was in complete shock over the weekend, and was supported by my neighbours.

"I couldn't see loads of stab wounds on him, but there was one on his back and another on his shoulder."

On Sunday a 15-year-old was charged with grievous bodily harm with intent, having been arrested on an attempted murder charge the day before.

The boy, who cannot be named, will appear at Croydon Youth Court on November 11.

Sutton CID is asking anyone with information to call 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Do you know the stab victim? Call the news desk on 020 8722 6358 or email tom.gillespie@london.newsquest.co.uk