Christopher Haughton will be detained in a mental hospital indefinitely

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

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. Oh him they were forced to use riot shields to subdue him.

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

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.

Judge Peter Beaumont QC ordered he be detained in a mental hospital under section 37 of the Mental Health Act with a restriction order without limit of time.