A passenger stabbed on a London-bound train told a court he thought he was going to die, as jurors heard the 999 call he made while hiding in a bike rack.
Scott Bletcher was among 10 people stabbed on an LNER service which was stopped at Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, on 1 November last year. Cambridge Crown Court heard Mr Bletcher had been travelling home from a day of Christmas shopping when Anthony Williams, 33, stabbed him in the head, arm and chest.
A section of a 999 call made by Mr Bletcher from the train was played to jurors on Friday. He told the call handler: “There’s a man who’s just stabbed me.” After the signal broke up, Mr Bletcher could be heard saying: “I’m between Peterborough and Huntingdon. I’ve been stabbed in the head, there’s a man who’s gone berserk on a train.”
He said he was bleeding and believed he had been stabbed in the arm before adding: “Oh my God, I think he’s coming back.”
Mr Bletcher earlier told jurors he had been sitting in a window seat listening to music when he saw groups of passengers running through the train. He initially thought there was going to be a fight or argument and remained in his seat. But after a passenger in front of him suddenly ran, Mr Bletcher said he saw a knife being held directly at eye level. “I looked up and the next thing I saw was Anthony Williams,” he told the court.
Mr Bletcher, who had never met Williams before, said he realised he was trapped in his seat with Williams standing in the aisle. He said no words were exchanged before he felt what he initially thought was a scratch to his head. Mr Bletcher moved his arm to shield his face and said the knife went into his right arm before he was stabbed five times in his body. Asked if he could feel the knife making contact with his arm, he said: “I could feel it slice.” He suffered three wounds to his arm and two to his chest and said he was later told at hospital that one of the stab wounds to his chest was “virtually on my lung”.
“I thought I was going to die,” Mr Bletcher told jurors. After Williams left the carriage, Mr Bletcher said he stood up and felt a warm liquid trickling down his arm. When he put his hand on his head, he said it was “instantly covered in blood”. He went into the vestibule and called 999 before hiding in a bike rack while still on the phone. By the time the train stopped at Huntingdon, Mr Bletcher said his blue jumper had turned burgundy and police officers at the station came to his aid. He described the sound of sirens as being “underwater” as he felt his eyes beginning to close. “I thought it was a death experience, I thought this is what it feels like to die,” he said.
Jurors also heard a video-recorded police interview with Samir Zitouni, a member of staff on board the train who picked up a frying pan in an attempt to knock the knife away. Mr Zitouni, who was working in a kitchen area, said: “My thinking was to try to hit the knife, to drop his knife.” He was stabbed during the incident and said he could not remember parts of what happened. Mr Zitouni said he tried to defend himself and prevent Williams from passing until the train stopped. “I didn’t want to give up until the train stopped,” he said.
Williams, 33, admitted 14 offences at an earlier hearing but denies attempted murder. The trial continues.
