A north-east teenager who was left fighting for his life after a savage knife assault is relieved his ordeal is finally over.
Gino Del Testa, 19, was stabbed in the neck by colleague Stephen Davies, 21, outside a work Christmas party last year.
Davies attacked Gino outside the haulage company where the pair worked in Fraserburgh’s Maconochie Road following an argument.
Davies pleaded guilty to the attack on Tuesday.
Now that Davies has taken responsibility for the brutal assault, Gino says he and his family can begin looking forward to the rest of their lives.
Last night, the Cairness teenager said: “I’m happy that it’s all over and that’s put an end to it. Now I can definitely move on with my life.
“Over the past 10 months you think a lot more about life, you think a lot more about the future.
“My family are incredibly relieved. They were obviously worried about whether he’d plead guilty but now he has we can get on with our lives.”
Gino, who did not attend court, added: “I definitely feel justice has been done.”
The teenager lost four pints of blood when he was stabbed in the neck outside the festive bash at Fraserburgh firm Gray and Adams.
The teenager said he had been walking with Polish-born father-of-one Sebastian Biesek moments before the attack.
Mr Biesek, 31, was struck by a passing car and died as he tried to flag down help.
Gino’s parents, Wendy and Stephen, kept a bedside vigil while their son lay in intensive care. Doctors told them their son was lucky to be alive.
The teenager remembers hearing paramedics tell police he was not going to survive because he had lost so much blood.
But Gino made a remarkable recovery and was well enough to leave hospital on Christmas Eve, only four days after life-saving surgery.
Davies, from Fraserburgh, appeared at Peterhead Sheriff Court on Tuesday and pleaded guilty to causing Gino severe injury and endangering his life. Sentencing has been deferred until December.
