Christopher Haughton has been locked up indefintely

A knife maniac who tried to kill two policemen with a meat cleaver in Kingsbury has been locked up in a mental hospital indefinitely.

Christopher Haughton, 33, of Milford Gardens, Wembley, left three victims with life-threatening injuries after he slashed at them with a ten-inch blade in Kingsbury Road on November 19 last year.

The Old Bailey heard he bit his victims and hurled missiles at them before running into a Halal butcher’s shop where he grabbed a knife and attacked them. He knifed PC Thomas Harding in the abdomen, stabbed PC Andrew Robb in the leg and slashed PC Alastair Hinchliff’s throat.

He also tried to slash PC Sham Haque when the knife came within a hair’s breadth of his neck.

When he was restrained Haughton spat mouthfuls of blood at them and said he was HIV positive.

Today Judge Peter Beaumont, the Recorder of London, said the officers showed courage, as he ordered Haughton to be detained without limit of time under the Mental Health Act.

He asked for his comments to be passed on to the Metropolitan Police commissioner.

Judge Beaumont said: “It seems appropriate to draw to the attention of the commissioner the court’s appreciation of the very considerable courage of the three police officers.

“All three acted in a very difficult situation with very considerable courage and the public is in their debt.”

He also praised Sergeant David Weir, the senior officer at the scene, who was in a police vehicle when a breeze block was thrown at the windscreen.

The judge said: “The court expresses its appreciation of the determination and skill he displayed in a situation which was in danger of unravelling out of control.”

Haughton claimed he was insane and although psychiatrist Dr Philip Joseph said Haughton was a paranoid schizophrenic he would have been aware what he was doing was wrong and was in control of his actions.

He was convicted of two counts of attempted murder, of wounding PC Andrew Robb with intent and attempting to wound PC Haque with intent, as well as three counts of causing actual bodily harm and common assault.

He was cleared of the attempted murder of PCs Robb and Haque and acquitted of causing grievous bodily harm to Sgt Weir. He was convicted of causing actual bodily harm to PCs Charlton and Barker in relation to an incident in Streatham in October last year.

In a letter, Haughton’s mother Angela apologised to the officers on behalf of her family. She said Haughton had been calm and loving before becoming ill.