Laila Johnson: 11-year-old Australian girl stabbed in horror Leicester Square knife attack breaks her silence

The 11-year-old Australian girl who survived a horrific stabbing attack on a London street this month has spoken for the first time about her harrowing ordeal.

Laila Johnson was enjoying a morning in Leicester Square with her mother when she was allegedly grabbed by a stranger, held in a headlock, and stabbed eight times.

She was rushed to hospital suffering wounds to her face, shoulder, wrist and neck.

UK Police charged Romanian man Ioan Pintaru, who is of no fixed address, with attempted murder over the alleged attack.

Laila’s mother Samantha said the attack came out of nowhere after the girls had spent the morning sightseeing and perusing shops in London’s busy Leicester Square.

“We just came out of the Lego store and she was jumped on and, yeah, did not see it coming and suspect anything, obviously,” Mrs Johnson told 7NEWS.

“Did not see it coming, did not suspect anything.”

The terrifying attack would be enough to leave even the bravest among us cowering for cover; but young Laila, who hails from Candelo, near Bega on the NSW south coast, refused to let it get her down.

In fact, a day after the attack — fresh out of plastic surgery — the 11-year-old was on her feet at the concert she had crossed the world to see.

She told the Daily Telegraph: “I had to get to the Taylor Swift concert”.

Accompanied by her mum and the two Metropolitan Police Service officers who pulled her to safety after the attack, Laila danced the night away, stitches and all, at Wembley Stadium with thousands of other Swifties.

It brought some joy back to what was a nightmare twist in a once-in-a-lifetime overseas trip.

The Johnson girls had been in Paris with some friends to watch the Matildas play at the Olympics, and travelled to London to watch Swift’s Eras Tour concert after missing her Sydney shows earlier in the year.

They were wandering around Leicester Square on the morning of August 12 when Pintaru, 32, allegedly leapt from nowhere and attacked Laila with a steak knife at about 11.30am.

Witnesses have recalled seeing Mrs Johnson throw herself over her bleeding and screaming daughter to shield her from further harm as members of the public detained the man.

Among the good samaritans was a TWG Tea store security guard named Abdullah, who had just clocked on for his shift, who tackled the knifeman to the ground and disarmed him.

He was later recognised for his bravery by the Pakistani High Commission.

“I saw there was a guy and he was stabbing a kid. I didn’t think anything, I just ran towards him, jumped on him, grabbed his hand with the knife and got him down on the floor,” Abdullah said during the ceremony.

“I kicked the knife away and held him down with a couple of other guys for four to five minutes, shouting for the police”.

Laila and her mum have since returned to the family farm in Candelo, and the 11-year-old has picked up right where she left off.

On Monday night, she was back on stage in the lead role of her school’s production of Alice in Wonderland, the Daily Telegraph reports.

“No one was going to play Alice but her,” Mrs Johnson told the newspaper.

Laila’s parents are amazed by her “incredible” resilience.

“She’s the most optimistic kid you could meet, she’s super bouncy,” Mrs Johnson told 7NEWS.

“She’s ready to get back to normal.”

Laila’s alleged attacker was charged with attempted murder and possession of a bladed article in a public place.

Police said the attack was random and not terror-related.

Pintaru was remanded in custody and will appear at the Old Bailey on 10 September.