A 10-YEAR-old boy is lucky to be alive after putting up a valiant fight against an intruder who wanted to "change" a toddler's nappy.

He is recovering in hospital after a failed attempt to slit his throat. The boy sustained a deep wound near his spine last week.

He is able to talk and even sit upright in his hospital bed after spending three days in intensive care.

His two-year-old female relative also sustained a slight cut to her throat and "her private parts were opened with a knife" said her emotional mother.

Police suspect she was raped.

"Doctors sent her blood for testing because everything was a mess. They cannot establish if she was raped or not," said her mom.

Describing the incident that nearly ended fatally, the boy's mother said: "Friday last week was bad. There was blood everywhere - in the bedroom, sitting room and bathroom."

The women share a flat in Benoni with their children. The boy's mother has two children, a 12-year-old daughter and the 10-year-old boy. The relative only has the two-year-old.

The boy's mom said: "My daughter went to visit another my sister on Thursday. On Friday morning I told my flatmate she could leave her daughter behind as I only leave for work in the afternoon, just before she comes back.

"I thought I could leave her with my son for just over an hour while they watch a movie," said the woman, who left home at around 3.30pm.

The second woman was due back at home by 5pm at the latest.

But just after his mom left home, the boy heard a knock on the door.

"This guy said he was my aunt's friend and asked to come in," said the boy who was sitting with his mother at Tambo Memorial Hospital in Boksburg. He opened the door and let a young man in.

"He said he was hungry, so I made him a sandwich and poured him a drink. And then he said he wanted to change the baby's nappy. I said no, you cannot change the baby's nappy," the 10-year-old said.

His mother said the man insisted on changing the baby's nappy and a struggle ensued.

The little boy fought back and sustained a cut to his throat. He was also stabbed in the back and dragged to the bathroom where he was locked up.

It is not clear at which point the intruder demanded money, but her son handed him change that was in the flat.

It is also not clear how he escaped from the bathroom, but he managed to tell the building's caretaker, who alerted police.

Unwittingly, the toddler's mother walked past the attacker "who had blood on his hands" a few minutes before she arrived at a bloody scene at her second-floor apartment.

Fellow tenants started a manhunt for the attacker, who was apparently well-known. They apprehended him at a local tavern where he was allegedly severely beaten before police arrived. His injuries have reportedly prevented him from appearing in court.

The two-tear-old's mother said her daughter, who was discharged from hospital the same day, was recovering well.

Benoni police spokeswoman Lieutenant Nomsa Sekele said: "We are investigating a case of attempted murder, housebreaking and rape. The suspect will appear in court soon."

- moengk@sowetan.co.za