'I wanted to die': TV paramedic recounts moment knifeman launched frenzied attack that nearly killed her

Deena Evans talking of her experience.  Two paramedics, who were stabbed whilst on duty last year, hope the attacker’s sentence sends a strong message of the consequences of assaulting emergency service workers.  See SWNS story SWMDstab.  52-year-old Martyn Smith has today been sentenced to nine years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm to the pair after they were called out to his home in Wolverhampton last summer.  Shocking police bodycam footage shows the moment Mick Hipgrave and Deena Evans were attacked by Smith with two large kitchen knives as they carried out a welfare check in Stephens Close, on 6th July 2020.  Deena suffered a punctured lung in the attack and subsequently spent three days in hospital following surgery. Mick was stabbed in the back and was discharged from hospital the same day. The pair spent months off work for both their physical and mental recovery. However, the mental scars are still very much there.  The whole incident lasted about 12 seconds, from the moment Mick and Deena entered the property, to Smith being tasered. However, the devastating impact of those 12 seconds will stay with our paramedics forever.
Deena Evans talking of her experience when she was the victim of a frenzied knife attack at work (swns) (swns)

A paramedic has relived the moment she was the victim of a frenzied knife attack at the hands of a man she was sent to help treat.

In a powerful statement outside court, Deena Evans described the moments after she was stabbed, saying she feared she was going to die.

Evans, 40, and Michael Hipgrave, 52, attended the home of Martyn Smith in Wolverhampton in July last year.

Shocking bodycam footage shows the moment Smith, 53, lunged at the pair with two large kitchen knives as they carried out a welfare check.

Both Evans and Hipgrave have starred in TV documentary Inside the Ambulance

Neighbours reported "blood curdling screams" and the pair shouting "please help, he's got a knife" and pictures show the pair being treated by terrified colleagues with Evans bleeding heavily on a stretcher.

Bodycam still of Mick Hipgrave and Deena Evans.  Two paramedics, who were stabbed whilst on duty last year, hope the attacker’s sentence sends a strong message of the consequences of assaulting emergency service workers.  See SWNS story SWMDstab.  52-year-old Martyn Smith has today been sentenced to nine years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm to the pair after they were called out to his home in Wolverhampton last summer.  Shocking police bodycam footage shows the moment Mick Hipgrave and Deena Evans were attacked by Smith with two large kitchen knives as they carried out a welfare check in Stephens Close, on 6th July 2020.  Deena suffered a punctured lung in the attack and subsequently spent three days in hospital following surgery. Mick was stabbed in the back and was discharged from hospital the same day. The pair spent months off work for both their physical and mental recovery. However, the mental scars are still very much there.  The whole incident lasted about 12 seconds, from the moment Mick and Deena entered the property, to Smith being tasered. However, the devastating impact of those 12 seconds will stay with our paramedics forever.
Bodycam still of Mick Hipgrave and Deena Evans who were stabbed whilst on duty last year (swns) (swns)
Two paramedics, who were stabbed while attending a patient in Wolverhampton earlier this month have praised the colleagues who came to their aid and helped save their lives.  See SWNS story SWMDstab.  Crewmates Michael Hipgrave and Deena Evans were attending a 999 call on Stephens Close in Wolverhampton on Monday 6th July when the incident took place. Both suffered serious injuries and were treated at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.  Since the incident, the pair have been inundated with messages of love from colleagues and members of the public, for which they are extremely grateful.
Deena Evans and Michael Hipgrave were attending a 999 call when they were attacked (swns) (swns)

Smith was tasered by police and arrested at the scene on Stephens Close following the attack which lasted just 12 seconds. He was sentenced to nine years in prison for each assault, to run concurrently, on Friday at Wolverhampton Crown Court. He will also serve five years on licence.

Evans suffered a punctured lung in the attack and spent three days in hospital following surgery.

She told the court in a statement how she was left haunted by the incident and relives the horrific attack "every time I close my eyes".

In a victim impact statement read in court on Friday she said: "I am a paramedic; I am also a sister, a mother and a daughter.

Mick Hipgrave being stabbed in the back. Two paramedics, who were stabbed whilst on duty last year, hope the attacker’s sentence sends a strong message of the consequences of assaulting emergency service workers.  See SWNS story SWMDstab.  52-year-old Martyn Smith has today been sentenced to nine years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm to the pair after they were called out to his home in Wolverhampton last summer.  Shocking police bodycam footage shows the moment Mick Hipgrave and Deena Evans were attacked by Smith with two large kitchen knives as they carried out a welfare check in Stephens Close, on 6th July 2020.  Deena suffered a punctured lung in the attack and subsequently spent three days in hospital following surgery. Mick was stabbed in the back and was discharged from hospital the same day. The pair spent months off work for both their physical and mental recovery. However, the mental scars are still very much there.  The whole incident lasted about 12 seconds, from the moment Mick and Deena entered the property, to Smith being tasered. However, the devastating impact of those 12 seconds will stay with our paramedics forever.
A colleague's bodycam footage shows the moment paramedic Mick Hipgrave was stabbed in the back by 52-year-old Martyn Smith (swns) (swns)

"It is impossible to say no part of my life has been affected because of what happened.

"I said your name, asked if you were ok, and then you jumped out and stabbed me.

"Not in the arm, or the leg, you stabbed me in my chest, and then you stabbed my colleague while he was trying to protect me.

"You were so angry, if you hadn’t have stumbled would you have carried on stabbing?

Mick Hipgrave and Deena Evans gaining access to the property with police.  Two paramedics, who were stabbed whilst on duty last year, hope the attacker’s sentence sends a strong message of the consequences of assaulting emergency service workers.  See SWNS story SWMDstab.  52-year-old Martyn Smith has today been sentenced to nine years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm to the pair after they were called out to his home in Wolverhampton last summer.  Shocking police bodycam footage shows the moment Mick Hipgrave and Deena Evans were attacked by Smith with two large kitchen knives as they carried out a welfare check in Stephens Close, on 6th July 2020.  Deena suffered a punctured lung in the attack and subsequently spent three days in hospital following surgery. Mick was stabbed in the back and was discharged from hospital the same day. The pair spent months off work for both their physical and mental recovery. However, the mental scars are still very much there.  The whole incident lasted about 12 seconds, from the moment Mick and Deena entered the property, to Smith being tasered. However, the devastating impact of those 12 seconds will stay with our paramedics forever.
The moment the paramedics attended the house of Martyn Smith who was jailed for nine years on Friday for two counts of wounding with intent (swns) (swns)

"I drifted in and out of consciousness, and thought of my family and children, and worried I would never see them again, whilst I lay in your garden dying."

Evans developed complications at hospital and required emergency surgery. She said: "I have never been so ill, at that point I wanted to die."

The paramedic said she was in pain every day as a result of the attack.

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FILE PHOTO Michael Hipgrave.  See SWNS story SWMDstab; A TV star paramedic who was pictured bleeding on a stretcher after she was stabbed while treating a patient has returned to work after making an amazing recovery. Deena Evans, 39, was brutally knifed in the chest while on a 999 emergency call out in Wolverhampton on July 6.  Shocking pictures taken at the time show Deena, who starred in a TV show Inside the Ambulance, being treated by terrified colleagues. She was rushed to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham for treatment to injuries, which included a chest wound and nerve damage. But three months on, Deena is now back to work after making an incredible recovery and started her first shift on Friday (16/10).
Michael Hipgrave, colleague of Deena Evans who was knifed in the chest while on a 999 emergency call (swns) (swns)

"I will forever look down and see my scar across my chest, painful and lumpy, a constant reminder of you and what you did," she added.

"Every day I take a variety of tablets three times a day to ease the pain, often leaving me in tears.

"My children no longer feel safe, they told me they were worried ‘the bad man who hurt mommy would come back’, it keeps them awake at night too.

"However even though they were children, they had to wipe my tears, and stay strong for me, helping me to bath, or tie shoelaces.

"Imagine how helpless my family felt, and imagine how helpless I felt as a mother."

More than £4,000 was raised for the two ambulance workers through a JustGiving page after the attack.

Evans added: "That day you made a choice to pick up two large knives that you knew could possibly cause fatal damage, you made a choice to stab me with those knives, and that choice you made took away a year of my life.

"The effects of it both mentally and physically will stay with me forever, everyday I relive your face, and that knife in my chest.

"We nearly lost our lives making a choice to come and help you."

WMAS Trust Chief Executive Anthony Marsh, said after the case: "I want to commend the outstanding resilience of both Mick and Deena in their wishes to come back to work and continue to help their patients after everything they’ve been through."

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