June 16, 2021 5.36 pm This story is over 32 months old

103-year-old Lincoln hero recalls how he survived burglar stabbing

He defied the odds and lives to tell the tale

By Local Democracy Reporter

A 103-year-old man from Lincoln who was pushed over and then stabbed by an intruder at his front door has lived to tell the tale, and his family have been raising money for the charity that supported him.

John Cox, 103, had to fight off the intruder in the Ermine area of Lincoln in February last year when he came to John’s door claiming to be from the council.

He said he was there to check the lights, but John recognised it as a scam and said: “You’re not coming in here, mate.”

John sat with his daughter Jill and a member of staff at Victim Support. | Photo: Ellis Karran for The Lincolnite

The man then shoved John over before stabbing him in the arm with a blade, and running away in panic.

His wife Joan, 98, was upstairs at the time and was said to be horrified by what she saw when she heard John calling for help.

Joan Cox, 98, is the wife of John and she was part of the fundraising efforts. | Photo: Ellis Karran for The Lincolnite

John said the scene was a “bloodbath” and it took nine hours for hospital staff to stem the flow of blood coming from his arm.

Miraculously, he survived this ordeal despite his age. John will turn 104 in February, but the incident hasn’t fazed him.

“These things happen in life to make you stronger,” John told The Lincolnite. “I’m proud of how I defended myself because too many people think they can do this to elderly, vulnerable people.

“The thing I was most worried about was my watch, it was a birthday present from my wife and I thought I had lost it!

“I think the amount of blood scared him (the intruder) a bit, deep down I think he was more frightened than I was.”

John and his family were joined by Victim Support to hand over the £300 donation. | Photo: Ellis Karran for The Lincolnite

John is a fit and healthy man for his age, and his key to a long life has been keeping busy and active, which is why he still washes up, does gardening and even uses an exercise bike upstairs.

After the incident, John and his family were put in the capable hands of Victim Support, an independent charity for victims of traumatic crime.

Victim Support contacted John every week, and would call him regularly during coronavirus lockdown to make sure he was still doing okay.

John’s daughter Jill said: “We can’t thank them enough really, they’ve been absolutely brilliant for John and the whole family.

“We didn’t know about Victim Support before this happened, so we just wanted to raise awareness and help them however we could so that more families can be given the support we were.”

The Cox family have taken it upon themselves to help Victim Support as a token of their gratitude for the handling of John’s situation, and have spent the last year trying to raise money for the charity.

Due to the pandemic, they were unable to host any fundraising events or raffles, but managed to raise £300 for Victim Support, which will go towards making communities safer and installing new alarm systems on doors and windows of local residents.