A BRIT woman who was stripped and stabbed by Portuguese gypsies says she would have died if a passer-by hadn't helped her.

Leighanne Rumney, 22, also had her long blonde hair hacked off by the gang, who wrongly accused her of having an affair with a married man.

Recalling the horror attack, the bar worker said: “They left me for dead.

“The only reason I’m alive today is that with when I got to the road with the strength I had left, a car went past.

“If a car hadn’t come past in time, I would have been dead.

“I literally jumped in front of the car to make sure I got help. The next thing I remember was being in hospital.”

If a car hadn’t come past in time, I would have been dead.

Leighanne lost two litres of blood and needed emergency surgery after staggering naked into the road to flag down a passing car following the horror in a Portuguese forest.

Traumatised Leighanne, previously told The Sun she no longer takes showers because she is haunted by the feeling of warm blood pouring down her back.

Her two female attackers - said to be the man’s wife and mother - and a male getaway car driver face trial in Portugal next week.

The Geordie was working as a waitress at The Hot Shot Bar in Albufeira on the Algarve when she caught the eye of a local Roma gypsy regular.

She spurned his advances but his family became convinced they were having an affair - and lured her into a trap to exact ritual revenge, the court will hear.

Leighanne's sister Kayleigh Ann had made an online appeal for financial help.

In the appeal she wrote: “My sister moved to Portugal for a new exciting adventure only to be violently attacked by three people who punched and kicked her as well as attacking her with knifes and a pair of scissors.

“She survived the ordeal with 7 stab wounds, various marks and a 30cm cut on her head and she also lost two litres of blood.

“They cut her hair off as a sick jealousy ritual.

“I would like to raise as much money so we can fly out to see her as well as buy her a wig to replace her beautiful long blonde hair.

“She is such a strong person and she escaped with her life. This could have been a lot worse. Please help me raise enough money to restore her confidence and get our family over there to see her and help her get justice.”

Leighanne, who is now back in the UK, denies anything happened between her and the man whose family are alleged to have exacted revenge on her.

She said: “I noticed this man was taking an interest in me when I was working behind the bar but didn’t fancy him and never dated him.

“But his family seemed to think we were having an affair and wouldn’t listen to me when I tried to explain nothing was going on.

“I was very naive and made the mistake of accepting a lift home from them and realised straight away I was in trouble.

“They drove me 45 minutes away from where I lived to a remote spot then opened a bag which I saw contained a knife and scissors.

“I was convinced they were going to kill me and was so scared I didn’t move or speak as the two women stripped me naked and started stabbing me in the back.

“They finally took the scissors and chopped off all my hair - it was some kind of a ritual to shame me - then left me with blood pouring from my wounds.

“I thought I was going to bleed to death.”

Rute Isabel Almeida, 40, and Eliana Carvalho, 24, will go before judges at a court on the Algarve next Wednesday with alleged driver Tiago Soutenho, 22.

They are understood to have been charged with kidnap and assault.

The women - said by police and court officials to be from the local Roma gypsy community - are from Porches near Albufeira.

Today, Leighanne said she was still haunted by the image of one of her female attackers “sticking a mobile phone in her face” as she recorded her.

She said: “I don’t know if the police have the footage but I think there is a lot of evidence including text messages the attackers sent to each other talking about what they were going to do.

“I’m still live in fear of reprisals. I never want to see them again.”