A BRITISH holidaymaker has been arrested in Tenerife after he allegedly slashed his girlfriend’s neck with a scalpel during a sunset cruise.
Thomas Gilpin, 22, paid £600 to take Eleanor Gilbert and their six-month-old son on the private trip on a boat called No Worries.
Shortly after they left the shore, he put his arm around her. Suddenly, he used a very sharp blade to cut her neck while they were on the boat, she informed the authorities.
Following the attack on her, which narrowly avoided a major artery, he is believed to have assaulted the captain and the first mate using the same blade.
They wrestled him to the ground as they struggled to turn the boat around to head back to port.
A shocking video shows the skipper repeatedly punching his attacker to subdue him as they yelled for help in Spanish.
All three victims were rushed to the hospital, where Eleanor, 22, needed 33 stitches in the gaping 5in wound.
Gilpin, of Leeds, is in custody in Tenerife, where a judge is investigating the case as a domestic violence attack.
He is being probed for subjecting Eleanor to controlling behaviour in an abusive relationship and attempting to murder her.
The warehouse worker is also accused of assaulting the captain, who was also stabbed in the neck, and the first mate.
A family friend said: “The police consider this a premeditated attack. He took the scalpel knowing what he was going to do.
“He deliberately took Eleanor away from us with the intention of killing me. We count our lucky stars that she is still here.”
The attack happened during a holiday in Las Americas with 15 of Eleanor’s relatives in what is an annual family tradition.
The couple had a tumultuous two-year relationship. Eleanor confided in her friends about his occasional shouting and worries that he was trying to keep her away from her social circle.
But she had no warning of what was about to happen when he arranged the trip for just her and their son, while the rest of the group stayed behind on shore.
The plan was for them to sail around the island, eat tapas prepared by the crew and then go for a swim before watching the sunset as they returned to port.
Gilpin appeared calm and relaxed as he took a selfie at the rear of the 44ft-long motor cruiser.
But he then sat down next to her and moments later Eleanor, of Leeds, felt a sharp pain across her neck and a wet sensation on her front.
She was in such shock she later told police that she thought “a jellyfish had jumped from the water and wrapped itself around my neck”.
When she realised she was bleeding heavily from the deep wound she grabbed one of her son’s nappies and held it on her neck.
She then heard the skipper yell: “I’m going to die” as he was also left covered in blood from a neck wound.
Also fearing she might not make it Eleanor made a desperate call to her family asking them to come to the dock to get her son.
Luckily the boat was only a short distance out to sea and the crew were able to turn around and quickly return to the harbour.
Paramedics and police rushed on board to arrest Gilpin and treat the victims.
The family friend added: “We are sure that, without the first mate’s help, they would all be dead.
“Eleanor is convinced his aim was to kill everybody on board.
“She is a survivor and she is not afraid to show her scar. She is thankful she got out of this alive and said she feels like she has just woken up from a two-year coma.
“We are grateful to have her back.”
Gilpin was remanded in jail by a judge at a hearing after the attack, which happened in December last year.
He remains in custody while the judge continues the investigation.
The case has been referred to a specialist court dealing with violence against women.
A spokesman for the National Police in Tenerife said: “We handed the suspect over to the courts following his detention and this is now a matter for the judiciary.”
Court officials said: “This case is being dealt with by the Court for Violence Against Women in Arona in southern Tenerife, which is where the initial investigating court referred it.
“The man who was arrested is being investigated for gender-based violence against his partner as well as two counts of assault.”
The two crew recovered from their injuries and are back at work.
