Prosecutor tells court train knife attacker caused terror on an unimaginable scale

A man accused of stabbing passengers on a London-bound train "caused terror and fear on an unimaginable scale", a jury at Cambridge crown court has heard. Anthony Williams, 33, is charged with attempting to murder 10 passengers and staff aboard an LNER service on 1 November last year. He is also accused of stabbing four people in the 24 hours before the train attack.

Opening the prosecution case on Wednesday, Christopher Paxton KC said Williams, armed with a knife, moved up and down a busy train from which there was no escape, stabbing several people as he went. Some passengers ran "for their lives" and hid in toilets, store cabinets and under seats, the court was told.

Jurors were shown CCTV footage of passenger Stephen Crean trying to wrestle the knife from Williams. Paxton said Williams asked Crean: "Do you want to die?" The prosecutor described this as clear evidence of an intention to kill, as was the stabbing and cutting of Crean in the hand, head and lower back.

Paxton paid tribute to what he called the "extraordinary bravery" of passengers who tried to take the knife away. Scott Green was stabbed as he tried to grab it. Samir Zitouni, a member of the train crew, was stabbed several times while trying to use a frying pan to stop Williams, jurors heard.

"In the face of that threat and the defendant's sheer brutality some stood tall to protect others trying to de-escalate his rampage, defending themselves and putting themselves in harm's way to protect strangers," Paxton said. He also praised the train driver for making an emergency stop in Huntingdon.

The court heard Williams had earlier posed a threat to others. In the early hours of 1 November, he allegedly approached a 17-year-old boy on the Docklands Light Railway in London and asked whether he was "beefing the devil" before stabbing him in the face and hand. On the evening of 31 October, jurors were told, he attacked three people in Peterborough, among them a 14-year-old boy.

"Across the Halloween weekend last year, to the many people he encountered, the defendant, Anthony Williams, posed a dangerous threat, marauding through towns and cities, on streets and trains alike, armed with a knife," Paxton said. He added that Williams stabbed many people, seeking to end their lives, and struck at them when they were defenceless and in fear.

Williams, who has no fixed abode, has previously admitted a series of offences, including the wounding of 12 people. He denies 14 counts of attempted murder. The trial continues on Thursday.