JAMES Johnson has celebrated the birthday his loved ones thought he would never reach.

The carer spent two weeks in a coma after a machete was lodged in his skull in a brutal attack. He made a miraculous recovery, and just ten weeks after the attack in Dovercourt he has celebrated his 21st birthday.

Family and friends threw a Scarface theme party for James, who is a huge fan of the iconic crime film, starring Al Pacino.

Other than scars from his lip to his neck and on his head he shows no sign of disability from the attack, which left him needing specialist surgery at the Royal London Hospital to remove the blade.

James, of Cliff Road, Dovercourt, is waiting for surgery to fit a titanium plate in his head where his skull was struck.

He said: “I want to thank the doctor who saved my life. “I can’t wait to get all my life back in place.”

James was found seriously injured in an alley in Mill Road, Dovercourt, on May 6.

The former Manningtree High School pupil shocked friends and family by talking and walking unaided within a month of the attack. He said: “What happened doesn’t really bother me.

“I’m better now and people don’t scare me. I wouldn’t say I’m a tough guy, but people don’t scare me.

“When I woke up in hospital I didn’t know what was going on, but I just got better.

“My mum has done a lot for me, and my friends and family are so pleased to see me.”

James celebrated his 21st birthday on Wednesday at the Royal in Main Road, Dovercourt.

About 50 guests dressed in Seventies gangster outfits and saw James unveil a wooden throne engraved with his initials, which was made for him by family friend Lee Kiddie.

Money raised from tickets and a raffle will be donated to the Royal London Hospital.

June Rawlinson, James’s mum, of West Street, Harwich, wanted to do something for James and the hospital which saved her son. She said: “On Tuesday night I was waiting for the bells of St Nicholas Church to chime at midnight. “When they did I squeezed James’s hand so hard and I had a lump in my throat.

“We could have been sitting around his grave on his birthday.

“I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy, but it is onwards and upwards now.”

Mr Kiddie’s wife, Tracy, organised the party after seeing what her good friend June had been through.

She said: “I have never seen a mum have to be so strong.”

  • Kyle Ogilvie, 22, of Station Lane, Harwich, denied trying to kill James when he appeared at Chelmsford Crown Court. He is due to stand trial in October.