THE father of a schoolboy stab victim has welcomed a judge's decision to double the knife thug's jail sentence.

He said the ruling, delivered by the nation's top judge, sent out a 'strong message' to society on knife crime.

Lord Judge, the Lord Chief Justice, increased the boy's sentence from two to four years and also ordered that he could be named for the first time after lifted reporting restrictions which had previously granted him anonymity.

James Green, of Wingate Drive, Whitefield, near Bury, was 15 when he viciously stabbed the 16-year-old through the thigh on a bus with a fearsome hunting knife. The boy had accidentally bumped into Green when it braked. The stabbing left the schoolboy paralysed below the left knee.

Green, now 16, pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm and was given a two-year detention and training order. It meant he would have served 12 months in detention then completed the remaining sentence on a restraining order.

But Lord Judge, sitting at the Appeal Court in London, doubled the 'unduly lenient sentence' to four years and said the knife thrust was delivered with such force 'it literally penetrated right through the victim's leg'.

Persevere

The boy's father, who criticised the initial sentence, told the M.E.N: "We just wanted justice to be done. We did not feel that spending a year in jail was long enough. I am just surprised that the first judge did not realise how serious it was. We welcome the ruling from a justice point of view and we hope that the sentence will provide him with a vehicle to recognise what he has done and change his ways. It will also give hope to other parents. They should persevere and justice will be done."

The court heard that the knife missed a vital artery 'by millimetres'. Had it punctured his femoral artery there would 'very probably' have been a `corpse' lying on the ground, the judge said. The court heard Green's attack was triggered by a 'trivial incident' on the bus minutes earlier in which the boy accidentally bumped into him when it braked without warning in Whitefield last September.

The two boys traded insults before Green rushed home to arm himself with the hunting knife. The court heard he ran back to confront the victim, who had tried to flee protesting that 'he didn't want any trouble'. He was finally pushed to the ground and curled into a ball in a futile attempt to protect himself, said Lord Judge. The court heard the victim's mother ran to his aid. Lord Judge said she was terrified after he mouthed out: "Mum, I think I'm going to die".

The judge - sitting with Mr Justice Owen and Mr Justice Sweeney - said the two-year term was too light and failed to reflect the gravity of the crime. Police have never found the knife, but uncovered an empty sheath from Green's home. Pictures of a knife similar to that described by witnesses were also recovered on his mobile phone.

The boy's father said he was continuing to recover from the ordeal. He said: "He is still paralysed below the knee. There are long-term consequences. He has got nerve damage which is looking like it is permanent. Ultimately this ruling sends a stronger message to people who have committed a crime and are going through the criminal justice system."

Green's mother yesterday defended her son and claimed he was bullied on the bus.

Amanda Green, 41, said: "What James died was totally wrong. I am not happy that he has had his sentence doubled because at the end of the day he has been a victim for 12 months.

"He was tormented on that bus every night from school. We are not condoning what he did, but he snapped after being tormented. He went over the top but he is not a thug."