Hero who saved lives after confronting Huntingdon train stabber breaks silence | UK | News
The heroic Nottingham Forest fan who bravely saved the lives of others by confronting the Huntington train stabber said he was “just doing what anyone would do”. The nation has hailed Stephen Crean as a hero since his brave actions during the brutal mass stabbing on a train to Huntingdon station on Saturday, November 1.
But he insists he is a “normal guy”. The London player had watched the Forest v Manchester United match and had taken the LNER service from Doncaster to London King’s Cross in Grantham. Just 20 minutes later Mr Crean realized something was wrong. Before coming face to face with the man with the knife, he remembers people running past him like crazy, “screaming that there was a man with a knife.”
I’m speaking on Nottinghamshire Live Mr Crean said: “Our car doors opened and a bunch of people started running past me.
“They were shouting there was a man with a knife and everyone was heading towards the buffet bar at the bottom of the train but I couldn’t get in there and the toilets looked full.
“I got to the stage where he and I were face to face. He was waving this knife in my face and said ‘do you want to die’ to me three times.”
The Forest fan heroically grabbed the knife-wielding man’s arm in an attempt to save others, who then allegedly responded by slashing the top of Mr Crean’s head.
Mr Crean even remembers catching the cutter’s knife. After escaping the attack, Mr Crean took refuge in an empty toilet on the train and tried to stop his heavy bleeding.
He remained in the cabin until the train was diverted to Huntingdon station in Cambridgeshire shortly before 8pm.
The red-white fan was taken to the hospital where he received stitches and his head and hands were wrapped with bandages.
At 8am the next morning, November 2, Mr Crean returned to London and is currently receiving treatment at his local hospital and is expected to have his bandages removed by the end of the week.
Despite his selfless actions, Mr Crean insists he is not “special”.
“There are other people in much worse situations than I am, and I’ve probably done my fair share, but I wouldn’t say I’m anything special.
“I managed to slow down the attacker and I have no regrets. I’m injured and it hurts, but so be it, I can get this fixed.”
And now Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis has pledged to personally fund the medical care of fans injured in a horrific stabbing incident.
In a statement shared by the club, Marinakis said Nottingham Forest were “shocked and deeply saddened” by the events and would ensure no supporter was left without appropriate medical care.
However, Mr Crean will not accept the club’s offer, saying “others may need it more than I do”.
The train was full of people when the stabbings began on Saturday evening. Eleven people were hospitalized and one staff member who stepped in to protect others is still fighting for his life.
Transport Minister Heidi Alexander confirmed Monday morning that the injured train worker was in “critical but stable” condition. He told Times Radio: “There are five people still in hospital, one of whom is a train crew member, who is in a critical but stable condition this morning.
Anthony Williams, 32, is charged with 10 counts of attempted murder, one count of actual bodily harm and one count of possession of a bladed article following the attacks.
He is also charged with a further count of attempted murder and possession of a bladed article in connection with an incident on a train at Pontoon Dock DLR station in east London earlier the same day, in which a victim suffered facial injuries after being attacked with a knife.
Williams, from Peterborough, will appear in Peterborough Magistrates’ Court later today.
