Christopher Haughton guilty of trying to kill PCs in Kingsbury

A man has been found guilty of the attempted murder of two police officers and attacking two other PCs in a butcher's shop in north-west London.

Christopher Haughton, 33, of Wembley, went for the police officers with a halal butcher's knife in Kingsbury last November, the Old Bailey heard.

They were responding to reports of Haughton causing a disturbance and were trying to restrain him after cornering him in the shop.

Haughton will be sentenced on Thursday.

His trial heard that he lashed out with an 8-10in (20-25cm) knife he found on the premises.

Haughton was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia after the attack and is undergoing treatment.

Intestine removed

As well as the two counts of attempted murder, he was convicted of two alternative counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

He was also found guilty of two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm on two other officers, but cleared of one count of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm to another PC.

In another unrelated incident in October 2011, Haughton confronted three different police officers, the court heard, and was convicted of one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and common assault.

Haughton was on bail for another attack on the police at the time of the stabbings

The jury heard he was on bail at the time of the Kingsbury attack.

Four officers were taken to hospital with serious injuries after trying to restrain Haughton including PC Tom Harding and PC Alastair Hinchcliff, the two officers Haughton was convicted of trying to murder.

The jury heard PC Harding had to have 9ins of intestine removed after his bowel was perforated when he was stabbed in the stomach through a shield.

PC Hinchcliff was stabbed in the face and arm and has been left with facial scarring.

Prosecutor Edward Brown QC told the trial: "It was perhaps only a matter of very good fortune that some of the police officers escaped with their lives."

Judge Peter Beaumont, the Recorder of London, said he would be ordering Haughton to remain at Broadmoor hospital without limit of time when he is sentenced later in the week.

Following the verdict, Det Insp Keely Smith said: "The police officers held on to him and arrested him despite coming under a sustained knife attack.

"Without the intervention of other officers at the scene who were able to eventually restrain Haughton, the outcome could have been very different."