THE small town of Blaina is in a "state of shock" after the events which led to a local teenager being given a life sentence for a murder bid on a 14-year-old.

On Friday, Shelley Farr, of Glanystryth, Blaina, was sentenced to life for attempting to murder the 14-year-old in a vicious knife attack at a fairground at Pilgrims Park, Blaina.

A 13-year-old accomplice, who cannot be named, was found guilty of aiding and abetting a serious assault and conspiring to wound a person with intent. She was given a two-year supervision order.

Now Councillor Ainsley Morgan, who represents the Blaina ward on Blaenau Gwent council, says people in the village are still intensely shocked by the events of April 12 last year.

And he says that following a difficult period, the "decent people of Blaina" would pull together to support each other.

Councillor Morgan was speaking after teenager Farr, who is 16 and was 15 at the time of the attack, was found guilty last month of attempted murder and conspiracy to wound a person with intent, after she stabbed her victim more than 20 times with a four-inch knife.

She was told by the judge at Cardiff crown court on Friday that she would serve four years and three months of her sentence before she would be considered for parole. He called her a "manipulative young woman".

Councillor Morgan said: "Obviously the town was in shock when it happened and people were reluctant to talk about it.

"People don't want to talk about it when something like this happens on their own doorstep."

He says there is sympathy for the victim and her family - and also for the family of Shelley Farr.

He says: "People in Blaina are very decent people. Hopefully now we can let sleeping dogs lie."

The Rev Roger Hewitt, of St Peter's Church in Blaina, says people had been especially shocked by the random nature of the stabbing - the girls went out looking for a victim and selected her at random.

He says local people found that disturbing, adding: "The judge's comments that the girls went looking for a victim at the fairground meant that anyone with children or grandchildren could have been affected."