Woman is stabbed for only giving beggar 50p

Sioux Jackson initially thought she'd been punched by the thug who approached her begging for cash. She gave him the 50p he asked for - but seconds later he knifed her in the chest.

The 42-year-old told how her horrified friends pointed to blood pouring down her front.

The computer technician, from St Georges Cross, was taken to hospital - where doctors told her she was lucky to be alive.

And now shocked Sioux, who will be scarred for life, is urging others to be on their guard, especially outside pubs.

She said: "I can't believe someone would stab me for 50p. I'm absolutely shell-shocked.

"If it could happen to me, it could happen to anyone."

The attack happened at 10pm on Monday as she attended a live music night at Laurie's Bar in King Street, yards from Argyle Street.

Sioux nipped outside for a cigarette, where she was approached by a man in his late 20s, wearing combat trousers, a hooded top and adidas trainers. He was initially friendly but turned nasty when she gave him the money.

Sioux, who is just 4ft 8ins tall, said: "He was a dirty, smelly guy, and he looked out of it on drugs, but he chatted away, saying his name was Jimmy and that he'd missed his bus to Paisley.

"After I'd given him 50p I heard him saying Is that it?'.

"As I turned I felt a blow to the chest and assumed I'd been punched. I was shocked but didn't think much of it. He didn't even run away, he just ambled off.

"But a few minutes later my friends pointed to the blood running out of my chest and I realised I'd been stabbed."

Doctors at the Western Infirmary revealed the knife stopped just millimetres from the heart - and that breast tissue saved her life.

Sioux added: "I couldn't believe it when the doctors told me I'd be dead if I didn't have breasts.

"Now it's had time to sink in and I'm so angry - and also very scared.

"It's extremely frightening - especially for women."

A spokeswoman for Strathclyde Police said inquiries into the attack were continuing.