Hannah Pritchett was 18 when she was stabbed in the lower back and hip by her boss Luisa Santos.

She was about an hour into her waitressing shift in May 2022 at the Three Horseshoes pub in Princethorpe, Warwickshire, when the blade went in. It was a fish knife, and with its cuts came Santos's false accusation the teen had had an affair with her husband.

That October, Santos was jailed for 10 years after being convicted of attempted murder. She was released in January 2026 under the Early Removal Scheme, which allows foreign national inmates in England and Wales, under certain criteria, to exit prison before they would have previously been allowed for the purpose of deportation.

Pritchett did not know of her attacker's departure from prison until five months after the fact. Sharing with the BBC the scheme's effect on her, she said she had been made to feel like an "afterthought", which was "just appalling".

A Ministry of Justice (MOJ) spokesperson said: "This was an awful crime, and our thoughts remain with Hannah Pritchett. Keeping victims informed is a vital part of our work and we are committed to always improving our service."

When asked by the BBC what the timeline should be for victims being informed of an offender's release under the removal scheme, the MOJ said the intention was for all victims to be contacted as soon as possible once information was available.

In the case of Pritchett, who was informed by the Victims Liaison Unit in June, there was an administrative error, the MOJ said, adding the matter had been escalated to management in both that unit and the prison in question.

Santos was deported having served three years and eight months in prison. The BBC has also sought clarification on her native country.

"Foreign nationals deported under the Early Removal Scheme are banned from ever returning to the UK," the MOJ spokesperson said.

According to Pritchett, however, the situation had made her "see that victims aren't at the forefront of these decisions".

Now 23, she said she had expected Santos to remain in prison until 2032 and thought she would have that time in which to come to terms with what had happened.

"When you get told on a random Tuesday in June that your attacker is now out and [is not serving] their sentence any longer it makes you feel that everything you have fought for was for nothing," said Pritchett, who lives in Coventry.

"Receiving that news was incredibly difficult and left me feeling let down by the justice system."

"It was a reminder that although a sentence may come to an end, the impact on victims continues long after."

"I went through a very difficult time when I was told my attacker was released early, especially as I found out five months after – it made things so much worse," she said.

Pritchett underwent surgery in hospital following the attack and said she had been "incredibly lucky to survive".

On Thursday, hundreds of prisoners will walk free from prison as part of the government's expanded early release scheme to free up capacity in overcrowded prisons across the country.

Pritchett questioned whether hundreds of victims were going to be made aware that their attackers would be released.

"In my case an administrative error led me to find out five months after," she said.

"If someone's attacker is released in the UK, what happens if they go out one day and see them in the street without being made aware?"

She said victims should be "at the forefront" of decisions on early release.

"My case was horrendous and I wouldn't wish that on anyone."

As part of her recovery and healing, Pritchett now raises money for knife crime prevention charities.

She plans to walk the Great Glen Way in Scotland next year and is hoping to raise £5,000 and finish the challenge on the fifth anniversary of the attack.

"Five years ago, I was incredibly fortunate to survive - five years on, I'm choosing to keep moving forward," she said.

The MOJ said that offenders leaving prison from 1 October would be monitored under the "toughest supervision" with the "biggest ever expansion of electronic monitoring rolled out".

Offenders would be electronically tagged and monitored when they left prison and £700m was being invested in probation and community punishment, the MOJ added.

It said victims would be offered "better practical and emotional support" through a newly launched helpline operated by Victim Support.

Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.