Knife attacker held by hero volunteer

A volunteer tackled a knife attacker after a man was stabbed in broad daylight in Spalding town centre.

Steven Murray witnessed the incident on Station Road at around 4pm on Monday (February 7) and held the attacker until police arrived.

“It was really, really scary,” said Steven who is unemployed but volunteers in the town. “Looking back, I don’t know how I managed it given I struggle with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).

“It’s not something you expect to see anywhere, especially not in the street in broad daylight.

“It really could have been anybody who was attacked.”

Steven says that after persuading the assailant to throw what he believed was a steak knife away he held on to him until police attended after he tried to run away.

He was also able to console the victim named locally as Jo Taylor until police came.

He was taken to hospital after what Steven believes was an attempted mugging.

Steven said that he heard the perpetrator demand the victim hand over money or he’d be stabbed, with the victim saying he didn’t have any money to give him.

He continued: “I heard these guys shouting in the street so went outside.

“I was shocked to see it happening and ran over.

“I thought he was kidding when he said he had a knife, but then I saw it.

“I spoke to him nicely and told him to throw the knife away, which he did then.

“Then when he tried to run I just grabbed him and held on until the police arrived.

“Jo was standing up and asking ‘am I bleeding?’ and it was a case of ‘yeah, you’re covered in blood pal’.”

The police arrived in five minutes and though still shaking, Steven was able to joke to the assailant that his “taxi and new Pandora bracelets has arrived”.

“At the end of the day I couldn’t do much else,” said Steven who currently lives in Sutton Bridge having moved to the area last April and originally hails from Falkirk in Scotland.

“It could have been much worse and any of us could have been the victim.”

Steven said he’d been in touch with the victim’s family and that he “wasn’t too badly injured”.

A friend of Mr Taylor, Richard Twaite, said that he’d had three stitches.

Mr Taylor declined to comment when asked by The Voice.

Today (Wednesday, February 9), Aurel Irimia appeared before magistrates in Lincoln on charges of wounding with intent to do him grievous bodily harm and possession of an offensive weapon (a knife) in a public place.