The parents of the Russian teenage girl knifed in the stomach by a robber in Oxford are flying to Britain to comfort her.

Oxford language school bosses and police are trying to arrange for the 15-year-old to have family members at her bedside as she recovers in hospital.

The girl, from Moscow, was stabbed by a long-haired robber as she and a 16-year-old friend were walking up Headington Road to their accommodation in Cheney Lane on Saturday.

As they approached South Parks at about 10.30pm, they were approached from behind by the red-shirted robber. He grabbed the girl's rucksack, stabbed her in the stomach and ran off.

The victim is part of a group of students on an English course linked to Oxford Brookes University and was due to have gone home this week.

Now she is likely to remain in hospital for several days after an emergency operation.

Police have been making house-to-house inquiries and have set up a temporary incident room at the scene, have reported a positive response from members of the public.

Spokesman Duncan McGraw said: "We've spoken to hundreds of people. We've had 50 phone calls to the police area. From our point of view we've got a number of very positive leads which we're pursuing.

"It is a high priority to find whoever is responsible for this. Police are still waiting to talk to her to get her side of the story."

The knifeman is described as white, aged 25, 5ft 10ins tall and of slim build. He had a long, thin, pale face and was clean-shaven. He had dark patches around his eyes and long, dark hair down his back which may have been worn in a ponytail.

Anyone with information should call 01865 266333.

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