Jurors hear 999 call in trial of man accused of Huntingdon train stabbings

The charges and the question for jurors

Anthony Williams, 33, denies ten counts of attempted murder over an attack on a London-bound LNER service that made an unscheduled stop at Huntingdon on 1 November 2025. The trial is being heard at Cambridge Crown Court. He also denies four further counts of attempted murder linked to earlier incidents in Peterborough and London. The court has been told there is no dispute that Williams carried out the attacks, which leaves jurors to decide a narrower point: whether he intended to kill. The trial is still under way and no verdict has been reached.

A 999 call from the carriage

Jurors have heard the audio of a 999 call made by a man who was stabbed in the head on the train. He had been travelling home after Christmas shopping in Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire. In the call he described the attacker as "berserk" and told the operator he was "dripping blood". The recording was played to the jury as part of the evidence in the trial. Jurors have also been told that the attacker challenged passengers to fight him, asking who was man enough to take him on.

Staff and passengers who tried to stop him

A member of staff working in a kitchen area on the train picked up a frying pan as the attacker reached the galley, having been told by others that there was a man with a knife. In a video-recorded police interview from 16 December 2025, which was played at Cambridge Crown Court on Friday, 6 November, he said his aim was to knock the knife out of the attacker's hand. He said he was stabbed during the struggle, that he had scars on his chest, and that his diaphragm and spleen were injured. He told a colleague "I think I'm going to die", and his left arm was in a sling when the interview took place. He sat in the public gallery while the interview was played to jurors.

Another passenger who witnessed the attack, but was not stabbed, said in a video interview that someone had passed him a fairly large toaster. He said he was holding it without really knowing what to do with it, and that his instinct had been to act. His account adds to the picture of passengers improvising weapons as the attacker moved through the carriages.

The judge's direction and the evidence so far

Judge Mr Justice Calver told jurors at Cambridge Crown Court that whether Williams carried out the attacks is not in question. They must consider whether he intended to kill, which is the central issue in the case. The evidence heard so far has focused on the frying pan, the injuries to staff and passengers, and the 999 call. The counts relating to the Huntingdon train are the largest part of the indictment, and the four earlier counts are being tried alongside them.

Attack on LNER service at Huntingdon10

Earlier incidents in Peterborough and London4

Attack on LNER service at Huntingdon

10 counts

Earlier incidents in Peterborough and London

4 counts

Data from the article text

The trial continues, and the jury has not yet begun its deliberations.