SECURITY guard Nigel Wright has been given the all-clear after an agonising three month wait to find out if he was HIV positive.

Mr Wright was stabbed in the face five times with a hypodermic needle when he tackled a man in Avenue La Fleche, Chippenham.

Mr Wright, who patrols Chippenham's Borough Parade, paid tribute to his girlfriend Helen Barnes for her support, as the couple waited for the results of the blood test.

"She has been absolutely wonderful," he said. "I also want to thank all the people in Chippenham who wished me well." But Mr Wright, a father of three, has also faced prejudice from a small minority because he might be HIV positive.

"I did have trouble with some of the people I was dealing with during the course of my work. They would say 'Don't touch me.' I think they used the issue as a way to insult me," he said.

"I was hugely relieved to get the test results it takes such a long time. It has been on my mind so much."

He is also coming to the end of a series of injections to guard against hepatitis B infection.

Now Mr Wright can get back to normal, but he said the incident had changed his life. "It has made me think more about what I'm doing with my life. It made me more aware you only have a certain amount of time," he said.

Mr Wright, who has been a security guard for Reliance Security for three years, was patrolling Borough Parade when he was called by the CCTV control to speak to a man.

He challenged him but a struggle ensued, when Mr Wright was stabbed.

A man is due to appear at Swindon Crown Court on October 30 to face charges of causing grievous bodily harm and affray.