Savage stabbing of British couple in Barbados makes waves in UK press

A visiting professor was stabbed when he tried to save his wife from a brutal attack by a knife-wielding intruder.

Barbados has made headlines in England again – and for all the wrong reasons.

A visiting British couple, Professor James Bridges and his wife Olga, were brutally attacked by a knife-wielding intruder within minutes of arriving at their rented villa in the island’s north-western parish of St Peter.

Professor Bridges, who is Chairman of the European Commission’s Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks, was stabbed three times while his wife suffered seven stab wounds, including a punctured spleen and diaphragm, according to The Telegraph. The Daily Mail added that Dr Olga Bridges also sustained a fractured rib in the carnage.

Dr Bridges, 62, underwent emergency surgery at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) in Bridgetown where she was later said to be in a stable condition.

Speaking from the hospital, the 72-year-old professor described the “sheer terror” of being attacked soon after they arrived at the luxury West Coast beachfront villa where they had been scheduled to stay for two weeks.

“We had only just let ourselves into the villa. I was downstairs and my wife was upstairs. I heard screaming and rushed upstairs and saw her being stabbed by a masked man with a knife,” he said. “I tried to pull him off, but he just started stabbing me. It was awful, just terrifying.

“After he stabbed me he just went back to stabbing my wife who was lying on the floor,” the professor added.

Professor Bridges, who is one of the UK’s leading experts on toxicology, went on to say that as he and his wife lay wounded, the masked intruder demanded to know where their money was.

After searching their bedroom for cash, the attacker returned and continued to stab them.

“It was just sheer terror. I still have a picture in my mind of him standing over her and repeatedly stabbing her,” the professor said.

The couple, from Guildford in Surrey, had reportedly only been in the villa for about 40 minutes when the savage attack took place last Friday evening.

A spokesman for the Royal Barbados Police Force said a local man was being questioned over the attack, but declined to give any further details.

The UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office confirmed that a British couple had been attacked in Barbados and consular assistance had been offered.

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Comment by kk on February 8, 2013 at 9:22am: I agree with Rolf. I believe they were set up. Hate to say it to but a lot of unreported crime occurs in Barbados. make no mistake Jamaica and Haiti are not the only ones plagued with crime. even the smaller islands are suffering from it.

Comment by Rolf Taitt on February 8, 2013 at 5:28am: Come on you people are not that blind. This was a payed hit by someone ( maybe the husband). The mask man was stabbing the wife then stab him and went back to stabbing the wife. Yea ok read between the lines it's not that hard if u are smart to see the truth.

Comment by harolda on February 7, 2013 at 7:26pm: I'm sorry that this couple had such a terrifying experience in Barbados but the incident can happen anywhere nowhere is safe not even your home.

Comment by Incognito on February 7, 2013 at 4:18pm: Great point TIG!!

Regardless who did it, it happended in Barbados, on their watch, so it will affect? of course Barbaods.

This is not to draw a correlation to what happened, but crime in the Caribbean has worsen "big time". Come on, what do we expect, hardened criminals are being deported more and more back to the isles, and less and less people are allowed to migrate to the Europe and the U.S. Add with that the high levels of unemployment, and you have a recipe for freaking out of control society!

Don't believe, then go flash some bling on the street back home, and see if some one in your family doesn't smack the $hit out of you for being stupid!!!

Comment by Nicole James on February 6, 2013 at 5:02pm: I don't understand why people say they're scared to travel to the islands, the same thing happens in the states

Comment by butter_cup123 on February 6, 2013 at 7:05am: My God what BIM coming to.......

Comment by perlita on February 5, 2013 at 5:34pm: sorry to hear this happen i also think this was set up who knew they were coming and what time they should look into that.

Comment by barbara glover on February 5, 2013 at 5:27pm: i am scared to travel to some of these island

Comment by GEE on February 5, 2013 at 4:51pm: This sounds like an inside job.....someone has the details,don't sound like B"dos to me though,it's a shame