A REWARD of up to £2,000 is now being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the attempted murder of Bingley man two years ago this week.

Phillip Hey, 55, was brutally stabbed on December 15, 2012 at about 10.30pm at his home in Wagon Lane, Bingley, after he was disturbed by a light in his garden.

The young man with an upper-class accent apologised for disturbing the victim and his wife and said he was looking for an item lost by his brother in the victim's garden.

Good Samaritan Mr Hey kindly lent the suspect a torch and asked him to leave it on the doorstep when he finished searching the garden.

About ten minutes later there was a further knock at the door. As Mr Hey opened it, he was stabbed in the throat with a thin 8-inch blade.

“The surgeons said they couldn’t believe I’d made it. The blade passed 2mm from my jugular and by-passed my windpipe,” said father-of-two Mr Hey, who spoke out at the time to help police catch his attacker.

“He obviously wanted to kill me and when it happened I thought – this is it, I’ve got a few minutes to live. This is my last chance – I’ve got to save my own life.”

A Red Cross trained first-aider, he lay down on the floor grabbing the neck wound and waited for the ambulance.

But at Bradford Royal Infirmary he discovered the 8-inch blade had entered just behind his right earlobe, missed his jaw and come out beside his Adam’s apple.

“If it had hit the jugular I would have died in two minutes, or if it cut the windpipe I could have drowned in my own blood,” said Mr Hey, who lost a pint of blood and suffered nerve and artery damage.

He was kept in hospital for four nights and managed to spend Christmas with family and friends.

Crimestoppers is now offering a reward of up to £2,000 for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the stabbing of Mr Hey.

His attacker is described as a white male, aged about 20, 6ft tall, of medium build with short hair. He wore a distinctive brown jumper with a zig zag pattern.

Dave Hunter, Crimestoppers regional manager, said: “The victim was left in a very bad way following this vicious and unprovoked attack and he deserves to have the person responsible brought to justice.

“We urge anyone with information, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem, to call Crimestoppers anonymously.

"Our phone line and anonymous online form are accessible 24 hours a day. You have nothing to fear by contacting us.

"Your identity will not be revealed. We don’t record or trace calls and we can’t track information given online.

"If you have any information on this attack then please contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or through our anonymous online form at crimestoppers-uk.org."