Shocking moment: Knife attacker rampages at Marks & Spencer and stabs defenceless worker in the neck

THIS is the shocking moment when a knife attacker started a brutal rampage at Marks & Spencer and stabbed a defenseless worker in the neck.

Munawar Hussain, 60, carried out a brutal attack on the Burnley city centre branch in December 2020, stabbing a branch manager in the neck and then chasing her through the aisles like a scene from a horror film.

5

Not content with just one victim, he turned to a frightened customer, stabbed her in the arm and attempted to stab her in the back as she lay helpless on the floor.

Fortunately, the blade broke off in the strap of her handbag, saving her life.

But the attacker wasn't finished yet.

He fled the scene, but was heroically arrested by a brave security guard and some courageous passersby who would not let him escape.

When the police arrested him, they found a chilling note in Urdu that read: “O Israel, you are committing atrocities against the Palestinians and Marks & Spencer To help them financially.”

Hussain was clearly on a delusional mission, believing that his heinous acts would strike a blow at a high street shop.

After being found guilty of attempted murder and assault, this disturbed man even tried again to kill a nurse in the maximum security unit where he was being held.

Fortunately, the nurse managed to fend him off, but the incident showed how dangerous Hussain really is.

Today Judge Nicholas Dean KC sentenced him to inpatient treatment.

This means he can only be released if the Minister of Justice or the Mental Health Tribunal declares him harmless – a day that cannot come soon enough for his victims.

Store manager Samantha Worthington, who suffered a collapsed lung and a wound to her neck, bravely told how the attack destroyed her life.

In court, she broke down and said: “It changed everything.”

She can no longer enjoy the simple pleasures in life without fear and lives in constant panic that something terrible might happen again.

Customer Janet Dell, who was left with an injured arm and haunting memories, said: “I don't think I will ever forget the horror of that moment.”

The attack has left her so traumatised that she cannot even set foot in Burnley town centre without her husband.

This was not Hussain's first violent attempt.

While in the maximum security cell at Guild Lodge in Preston, he brutally attacked a nurse with a kitchen knife, claiming that the nurse had “converted from Islam to Christianity” and deserved to die.

The psychiatrists who examined Hussain concluded that he was suffering from a serious mental disorder. But that is little consolation for his victims: they now have to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives.

Judge Dean did not hold back and strongly condemned Hussain for attacking innocent people who had absolutely nothing to do with his twisted views.

The judge said: “You have caused serious harm to people who were, for all intents and purposes, completely innocent” – and made it clear that his monstrous actions could never be justified by a delusional intent.

And in a rare gesture of gratitude, the judge awarded James Brayford, the heroic security guard who helped arrest Hussain, £2,000 compensation – a small token of his bravery.

Chief Superintendent Sarah Kenwright of the CTPNW said: “No one should have to go to work or shop fearing for their life.

“Sadly, this has become a reality for three people whose lives have undoubtedly been changed both physically and mentally by Hussain's actions.”

Hussain will now spend the foreseeable future in a maximum security hospital where he can no longer pose a threat to the public.

But the scars – both physical and mental – will stay with his victims for the rest of their lives.

5

5

5