Terror in street as hero PC fights off knifeman

He suffered three stab wounds in his right hand and is believed to be the first police officer to have been knifed in the town.

"I experienced extreme fear for myself. In eight years in the police force, I have never been in that situation before," he said. "We all feared for our lives."

His attacker, Lee Thompson, 38, was jailed for two years.

At last week's hearing at Inner London Crown Court, he was found guilty of two counts of possession of offensive weapons and sentenced to two years' imprisonment for each, to run concurrently.

He was also convicted of common assault and received a three-month prison sentence to run concurrently.

Finally, he was convicted of unlawful wounding and received a further 12-month prison sentence. This was again to run concurrently.

Away from the court, PC Felgate relived the moments when he put his life on the line for the sake of law and order.

PC Felgate had been called to a domestic disturbance in Steyne Street about 8.30pm on January 3, 2008. He and a male colleague were sent as back-up to the initial pair of officers called to deal with a volatile domestic dispute.

PC Felgate, 36, said: "As we got out of the car, we had this man (Thompson) coming towards us.

"He had his hands in the air and it looked like he was giving himself up. But a colleague raised the alarm that he had two big knives in his hands."

The knives both had 10in long stainless steel blades.

PC Felgate said: "My colleague got out of the driver's seat and Thompson was interested in taking him on. He starting making slashing movements towards his head. My colleague backed off and I then distracted Thompson by shouting at him."

The attacker came towards PC Felgate, who sprayed him with artificial pepper spray. But Thompson's rage saw him shrug off the effects of the spray.

"He came to me and made stabbing movements towards my face," PC Felgate recalled. "I put my hands up to protect myself and got stabbed in the right hand."

PC Felgate received three wounds. The biggest was where the knife made its initial impact. The other wounds reflected where the blade further slashed his hand.

PC Felgate again sprayed Thompson in the eyes and the chemical began to work, causing the attacker to back off.

He was surrounded by the three other police officers who used a baton to disarm him.

Thompson continued to resist arrest, but was handcuffed and put into a police wagon.

PC Felgate, despite his injuries, was determined to be back on duty the next afternoon. "I was not going to let being stabbed stop me doing my job," he said.

He said the threat of knives had been a frequent element of his daily routine.

"You get a mention of knives nearly every day. But something like the stabbing really brings the threat home to you," he said.

"The man was coming towards me and wanted to stab me."

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