A HAMPSHIRE dad has described the horrific moment he was almost killed with a Samurai sword and left blind in one eye.

Labourer Jon Barnes, 23, was visiting a friend when he was attacked after a row with another person.

The sword struck him on the side of his head and face, leaving a long gaping wound which needed more than 40 staples.

Police launched an attempted murder inquiry and made a series of arrests but no-one has yet been charged in connection with the near-fatal assault.

It happened at a house in Heinz Burt Close, Eastleigh, four days before Christmas.

Mr Barnes was walking down the stairs when he was struck from behind after seeing his assailant grab a sword from under a bed.

“The thing I remember most is the blood, which went everywhere,” he said. “I was dying on the floor.

“A neighbour came round with a towel and wrapped it around my head. If they hadn’t done that I would have died.”

Mr Barnes, of Winchester, spent a month in Southampton General Hospital, including 19 days in a coma, and says he is lucky to be alive.

Doctors told him he was a “medical miracle” but had to break the devastating news that he had been left blind in one eye.

“I put my hand over my other eye and couldn’t see a thing,” he said.

After experiencing weeks of trauma Mr Barnes and his partner, Abi Howcroft, finally have something to celebrate - the arrival of their baby daughter Elsie-Rose.

Her birth was a rare moment of joy for a couple, who have endured the worst moments of their lives and know they face difficult days ahead.

Mr Barnes said: “I’ve been left with a huge scar on the side of my head and often feel very tired and depressed.”

The labourer, who used to live near the house where he nearly died, is still trying to comprehend why he was attacked with such ferocity.

“He had no reason to do it,” said Mr Barnes.

As reported in the Daily Echo, police cordoned off the house and also searched a lake at Lakeside Country Park in Eastleigh as part of their investigation.

No further action has been taken against a 17-year-old girl from Eastleigh who was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.

A 48-year-old man from Bursledon, arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm, has been released with no further action.

A 17-year-old boy arrested on suspicion of attempted murder has been bailed.