A BIRMINGHAM shopkeeper left paralysed after being brutally stabbed by a masked robber today branded his attacker a “two-legged animal” after he was handed an indeterminate jail sentence.

Dad-of-three Faisal Sharif was attacked with a hunting knife by jobless Jaymes Walsh who was trying to snatch cash so he could make a “trivial” final payment on his holiday.

Mr Sharif’s wife Darakshan, then five months pregnant with their son, was also inside the store and was slashed twice on her right arm by Walsh, who was handed an indeterminate sentence with a minimum of six years.

The 23-year-old of Cyprus Square, Acocks Green, demanded money and cigarettes when he stormed into Mr Sharif’s A M News and Convenience Store, in Yardley Road, Acocks Green, in July last year.

Speaking for the first time after yesterday’s sentencing at Worcester Crown Court, 33-year-old Mr Sharif, said he was now forced to live off benefits and his 30-year-old wife had been left too scared to go out.

“The sense of insecurity is built in now both in me and my wife,” he said.

“We don’t see life from the same angle as we used to.”

In the attack Mr Sharif grabbed a small iron bar to defend his wife but was struck by Walsh.

“I felt no pain, nothing, I just lost my strength straight away and I collapsed.

“My only worry had been for my wife who was standing by him,” he said. “It was so lucky our two children weren’t in the shop at the time.

“Our new baby boy is well and healthy which is a relief.”

Mr Sharif said he was “satisfied” with Walsh’s sentence, which was indeterminate for the public’s protection. It means he will have to prove he’s no longer a danger before he can be released.

“I have gone through a very difficult time over the last 15 months since this unprovoked attack both on me and my wife with a murder weapon,” he added.