A passenger stabbed multiple times by a knifeman accused of trying to kill 10 people on a train has told jurors he thought “this is what it feels like to die”.
Scott Bletcher was on the York to London King’s Cross LNER service on 1 November last year when the attacks happened, leading to an unscheduled stop in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire.
On Friday, Cambridge Crown Court also heard from staff member Samir Zitouni, who said he fought back using a frying pan, stating he did not want to “give up until the train stopped”.
Anthony Williams, 33, of Langford Road, Peterborough, denies 10 counts of attempted murder.
He is also charged with four other alleged attempted murders following earlier incidents in Peterborough and London.
Bletcher said he was travelling alone after doing Christmas shopping in Newark-on-Trent, in Nottinghamshire, and was “quite looking forward to the tapas I’d bought actually”.
After Peterborough he noticed people running down the aisle, but he remained seated because he was “still not concerned”, presuming there had been a disagreement.
He then saw a knife being held in front of him at eye level and said he felt “trapped… there is no way of escape”, followed by a “scratch” to the head from the knife.
Bletcher said he moved his arm to shield his face and added: “There was nothing said to me and I didn’t respond because there was nothing to respond to.”
The court heard the victim – who is the first to give live evidence at the trial – was stabbed five more times.