A train staff member who confronted a knifeman with a frying pan during a suspected terror attack on a London-bound train has told a court he was determined to protect passengers until the train came to a halt.

Heroic Stand

Samir Zitouni, who was working on the York to London King's Cross LNER service on 1 November last year, described how he used the kitchen utensil to fend off Anthony Williams, who is accused of attempting to murder 10 people on board. The incident forced the train to make an emergency stop in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire.

In a video interview played at Cambridge Crown Court, Zitouni recounted the terrifying moments when he saw a crowd of people running through the carriage shouting that there was a man with a knife. "A guy with a knife, are you sure?" he recalled asking, before grabbing a frying pan and rushing to confront the attacker.

"My thinking was try to hit the knife, to drop his knife... to not let him pass, to not give up until the train stopped," Zitouni said in the interview, which he watched from the public gallery.

Injuries and Aftermath

The court heard that Zitouni sustained serious injuries during the incident. Both of his lungs were punctured, and he required four blood transfusions, chest drains, and a ventilator to survive.

Another injured passenger, Raza Aslam, previously testified that Zitouni "was rushing backwards and forwards like a busy beaver trying to get different things" including trolleys and pans to defend the passengers. Zitouni described how he took the pan and then saw "the first thing I saw was the blade of the knife". He said he kept repeating "No, man. No, man" and even offered help to the attacker, believing that "was better than swearing at him".

Jurors have been shown CCTV footage of the attacks on the train, and previously heard that Zitouni told the defendant: "We love you, we can help you."

Legal Proceedings

Anthony Williams, 33, of Langford Road in Peterborough, denies 10 counts of attempted murder in relation to the train incident. He also faces four other charges of attempted murder in earlier incidents in Peterborough and London.

Prosecutors allege that on 31 October, Williams tried to kill three people in Peterborough. He is also charged with attempting to murder a teenager in the early hours of 1 November on a DLR train in east London.

The court has been told that whether Williams carried out the attacks is not in question, but jurors must decide whether he intended to kill.

The trial continues.