British have-a-go hero 'stabbed in neck and lung by Moroccan phone thief' in Spanish tourist hotspot

Two Ukrainian holidaymakers were able to give him first aid, and although he was initially left in a critical condition, it is now expected he will make a full recovery.

However, Theo will be unable to fly home for two weeks due to a knife wound to his lung.

The 18-year-old, from Ryton, near Oldham, told the Daily Mail: "I really thought it was game over. I thought I was going to die because of the amount of blood on the floor.

"It was only when I saw that, it dawned on me I'd been stabbed twice - in the neck and in the lung. It could have been really bad, but I'm alive and that's the main thing."

He said he was outside a club with a girl when a man approached asking to borrow her phone for an emergency.

While she was hesitant, Theo said it might be a genuine.

As she handed over her phone, the man "just took off", with Theo sprinting after her.

He then caught up with the man and placed a hand on his shoulder.

The man, a Moroccan, according to local media, then turned around and stabbed him twice.

He said: "'I tried to run again but couldn't, and I just fell to the floor.

"That's when two Ukrainian guys helped me with first aid. I saw all the blood and really thought I was brown bread."

The electrical engineering student said he did not regret what he did and would do it again, but added it was "embarassing being called a hero".

"A real hero would have got the phone back. But at least I'm still alive, and that's what counts", he said.

His mother, Caroline, 56, flew to Tenerife after being told her son had been stabbed.

She said: "I was in a blind panic. At first they said it was his thigh and shoulder, but when I got here I realised it was his lung and neck.

"A few millimetres either way and it could have been his jugular. It would have been a different story."

Theo remains in hospital with a drainage bag in his lung and unable to fly until he gets clearance from doctors.

The family have set up a GoFundMe page to help cover Caroline's expenses while she remains at Theo's bedside, with more than £5,000 having already been raised.

No arrests have been made but police have a specialist team on the case to identify and detain the attacker.

Local emergency services said in a statement: "An 18-year-old man has been seriously injured after being stabbed in Rafael Puig Lluvina Avenue in Playa de las Americas.

"The victim was transferred to the Hospital Universitario Hospiten Sur after being stabilised at the scene."