A MOTHER thought her teenage son was going to die when he was stabbed in a random attack as he walked along the street with friends.

The 15-year-old underwent emergency surgery on Saturday following the incident at around 5pm in Underwood Road, Chingford.

The victim and two companions, including his girlfriend, were returning from a local shop when they innocently glanced at a passing car.

The car stopped and reversed and a man began shouting at them. When the boy asked what the problem was a man got out of the car and stabbed him in the stomach.

An air ambulance was called in and the boy was rushed to hospital.

Following the operation, he is still unable to walk more than a few yards and is said to be in great pain.

The teenagers and their families are still struggling to come to terms with what happened.

His girlfriend's mother said that when she arrived at the police station in the aftermath of the attack, her daughter was distraught and her friend could not stop vomiting due to shock.

She said: "This is not something they should have to witness, Their emotions have gone from total disbelief to anger and now they are realising how short life is and how easily you can lose it.

"The (victim's) mother tried for many years to have her son and loves him so much. As a mother myself my heart ached when I saw her reaction - she thought her son was going to die.

"I don't want my daughter going out of the house. I want to keep her home, but I can't do that. I just have to hope she is safe.

"This is not a war zone and I can't understand how someone could inflict this on a child.

"I wish the guy who did this could have been in that hospital with the boy's family and felt what they were feeling."

The attackers, one white man with cropped blonde hair and a black man with short dreadlocks, drove off along Underwood Road in a dark Smart car and remain at large.

Anyone with information should call Chingford Police Station on 8945 3152 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.