Heroic passengers desperately tried to stop 'knifeman' who had 'delight on his face' as he rampaged through train carriages stabbing victims, court told

The Huntingdon train attacker had 'the greatest delight on his face' as he stabbed his numerous victims, his trial heard today.Jurors were told car delivery driver Raza Aslam became aware of what was happening when he heard other passengers talking about a man saying 'the devil won't win'.When he spotted Anthony Williams approaching, Mr Aslam later told officers he had 'the greatest delight on his face, I saw his eyes expand with pleasure'.He added: 'I saw the contempt on his face… like a person who's high. He was just loving every single moment… he loved seeing us in desperation.'The chilling description came as Cambridge Crown Court heard of the terror – and moments of astonishing bravery – on display as Williams marched through a succession of carriages on the LNER service from Doncaster to London on November 1 last year.Ten people were attacked on the train, while another four had been targeted in different locations since the preceding day – leaving many with terrible injuries.Mr Aslam was among a small group of 'big strong men' train worker Samir Zitouni -who had tried to slow him down with a 'defensive blockade' of items including frying pans and a toaster - asked to help stop the attacker.Mr Aslam grabbed a frying pan but was quickly stabbed in the hand by Williams and 'felt an immediate loss of energy in his arm'.The defendant was about to 'finish me off', he claimed, when Mr Zitouni 'jumped straight in there' by 'throwing things at the defendant'. Anthony Williams, 33, attacked ten people with a knife on a Doncaster to London LNER service The defendant - who also attacked four other people from the preceding day - admits 'intending to cause them really serious harm' but denies 14 counts of attempted murderFootball fan Stephen Crean bravely 'whispered to those in the café bar to shut the door and went towards the defendant', the court was told.He had watched Nottingham Forest play earlier and had boarded the train at Grantham in Lincolnshire when he saw a young girl run past him screaming about a 'man with a big knife'.Describing how Mr Crean confronted Williams, prosecutor Chris Paxton KC said he 'had no knife, no weapon and looked, he says, the defendant in the eyes'.He added: 'Mr Crean will say the defendant said something which he will never forget. The defendant said to Mr Crean, 'Do you want to die?'In a police interview, Mr Crean said he 'went for the knife… to stop him [Williams] cause he's on a mission'.The have-a-go hero was stabbed several times in the head, upper and lower back, fingers and hip during the 'one-sided' attack, before the defendant headed towards the buffet car.He sought shelter in a toilet and made a 999 call which was played in court today.A clearly shaken Mr Crean could be heard saying: 'I've locked the door. I need help…. I'm scared'.The operator, who had asked for his location on the train and where he'd been stabbed, told him: 'I know. We've got officers at the station now. We'll come to you.'David Presland, 73, 'thought he was going to die' when Williams approached him with the kitchen knife during what the prosecution has described as a 'rampage'.He had been knocked to the floor as he tried to get away and was on his hands and knees when 'he stabbed me in the back'.Footage played to the jury showed Mr Presland's hand 'come up in a pitiful and pleading fashion but the defendant continues his knife attack'.The pensioner, who was left with wounds including one which broke a rib and punctured his lung, told police: 'I thought I was going to die. I'm very lucky that I survived.'Prosecutor Chris Paxton KC told the jury on the first day of the trial yesterday how there had been several examples of 'extraordinary bravery'.They heard today how Mr Presland was helped up by someone now believed to be another victim, Kevin Deely.Mr Paxton said: 'It is worth noting that, in this storm of violence and even when gripped by fear, many there on that train helped others.' Cambridge Crown Court has heard how Williams was drinking fortified tonic wine Chilling footage has shown how passengers fled as Williams marched through the carriages of the train on November 1 last yearMoving on to Mr Deely's experience, the prosecutor said he shouted 'you don't have to do this' at Williams and threw something at him 'but didn't think it connected'.He grabbed the arm of 'dazed' Mr Presland and helped him move away.It was only afterwards that Mr Deely realised he had been stabbed. He was treated for a wound to his scalp and another to his front abdominal wall that was nearly four inches deep and left his liver lacerated.Scott Green was saved by his plucky dog, Poppy, the court heard, after it rounded on the 'marauding' defendant.He had been watching something on his phone when he heard a commotion that he thought was a 'scrap' before feeling a 'jab to his left side' and saw Williams.In a 'desperate' attempt to defend himself, he grabbed the knife – leaving him with damaged muscles and tendons. He also received a wound to his back.Mr Paxton told the court Mr Green's dog 'started barking really aggressively and he's [the defendant] just done a runner'.'It seems that Poppy the dog, for Mr Green at least, saved the day and sent the defendant running off,' the prosecutor continued.'You will hear that in an unrelated incident the defendant had previously been bitten by a dog.'Mr Green told police: 'I remember running through the doors and it was literally just carnage.'In what the prosecution said 'reflects the humanity of others' in spite of the circumstances, Mr Green described how a woman tried to make light of the grim situation as she 'probably saved my life' by bundling him into a toilet.'I'll never forget she made a little joke. She was like 'I don't usually get in with men whom I just first met in a toilet',' he told officers.The jury has been told that the defendant, 33, has admitted a number of offences including attacking people with a knife and 'intending to cause them really serious harm' but denies 14 counts of attempted murder.Mr Justice Calver told them they would have to decide whether Williams intended to kill the people he attacked, as the prosecution claim.The Halloween rampage began when a 14-year-old boy, who can't be named for legal reasons, was stabbed at a footbridge in Peterborough on October 31 last year.Two men – Dawid Taborski and William Ogelby – were then attacked nearby although they avoided injury.A 17-year-old was next stabbed in the face while travelling on the Docklands Light Railway in east London at Pontoon Dock in the early hours of November 1.Williams then boarded an LNER train in his home town of Peterborough at 7.26pm that evening, clutching a 'large kitchen knife and a bottle of fortified tonic wine', where the other ten attempted murders allegedly took place. Emergency services at the train, which made an unscheduled stop in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, where Williams was arrestedDescribing passengers' responses when the attack began, Mr Paxton said: 'In sheer terror, the train passengers ran for their lives, hiding away in locked toilets, store cabinets, or under seats until many fleeing the defendant literally ran out of train.'Trapped and facing the defendant, who had been wielding, slashing out and stabbing with his knife, some sought to defend themselves and others on the train, showing extraordinary bravery in the face of the defendant's onslaught, picking up frying pans or toasters to keep the defendant back, even trying to de-escalate the situation by asking him why was he doing it and telling him that they loved him.'But to no avail, the defendant continued his knife attack – slashing out and stabbing those around him.'Horrifying footage played in court showed dozens of passengers wrapped in coats and hats fleeing down carriages as Williams approached them.The bloody onslaught ended when the 'quick thinking' train driver hurriedly arranged an unscheduled stop at Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire and Williams was arrested.The defendant is appearing in court via videolink from high-security Rampton Hospital in Nottinghamshire.The trial continues.