'My God - I've been stabbed'

PC Thompson and PC John Gatland arrived at Simon Cowley's flat in Rock Close, Southwick, within a minute of receiving a call about a late-night disturbance.

Both were unmistakably dressed as uniformed police officers in bright yellow fluorescent jackets.

As they made their way towards the flats, James Richards, 35, his son Jonathan, 17, and Shaun Kelly, 18, suddenly appeared from the darkness.

PC Thompson said: "For a split second, everybody froze, not sure what was going to happen next.

"Then two of the men started to run, one to the right and the other between PC Gatland and myself.

"The third hesitated and seemed indecisive. He suddenly tried to run off and I grabbed hold of him by his arm and around his neck.

"I got him down to the ground and as I did so I felt punches in my back."

James Richards, who had gone to the flat believing Mr Cowley was responsible for attacking Kelly and stealing cannabis worth £70 from him, had stabbed PC Thompson twice in the back with an 8in kitchen knife.

One of the thrusts sliced into a kidney, causing life-threatening injuries but at first the officer did not realise what had happened.

He reached around and felt the knife sticking into his back, cutting one of his fingers as he did so.

PC Thompson said: "When I looked at my hand I could see a lot of blood and there was flesh hanging from my finger.

"I thought, 'My God, I am being stabbed' and I let go of him. I could not believe what was happening."

Richards got up and went towards PC Gatland who was struggling with Jonathan Richards just a few feet away.

Although shocked and confused, PC Thompson could think of only one thing - he had to warn his colleague about the knife.

PC Thompson said: "For a split second I wondered if I should use my radio to warn John.

"Then I shouted, 'John, I've been stabbed, he's got a knife'. I just wanted him to have a fair chance."

When he heard the warning, PC Gatland let go of Jonathan Richards and instinctively followed his training by flipping on to his back, raising his legs and lashing out to protect himself as James Richards stood over him and jabbed the knife towards him.

PC Gatland said: "I was very frightened and felt vulnerable and thought he was going to stab me as well.

"I was wondering where the knife was going to go. Would it go into my leg and would it hurt?"

After making sure his son had escaped, Richards turned back towards PC Thompson, who was convinced he was coming back to finish him off.

Richards paused when he reached the officer who was lying helpless, bleeding heavily.

He paused briefly to look at PC Thompson, then ran off up the road with the knife still in his hand.

PC Gatland immediately went to help his stricken partner, using his radio to call for help.

He lifted PC Thompson's shirt and saw two wounds in his back. He used his handkerchief to try to stem the bleeding from the larger one.

Other officers began to arrive and soon the Sussex Police helicopter was overhead, scrambled from its base at nearby Shoreham airport.

As they waited for paramedics and an ambulance, Dr David Starbuck pulled into Rock Place on his way to a house call nearby.

He did not see a police officer trying to flag down his marked doctor's car and stopped further up the road at the address he had been called to.

An officer went after him and Dr Starbuck immediately went to see what he could do for PC Thompson.

He said: "As we pulled up a policeman banged on the car window and said another officer had been stabbed.

"I went to him and noticed one of the wounds was close to his kidney. I was concerned he could deteriorate very quickly because of the internal bleeding. I knew he could soon be in a critical state."

Dr Starbuck asked if time could be saved by using the police helicopter to airlift PC Thompson to hospital.

He was told that the nearest hospital was at Worthing but there were no landing facilities.

PC Thompson was taken there by ambulance with his PC Gatland at his side.

At the same time, the hunt for the three men was continuing in Southwick.

Kelly rang his mother Mandy Stephenson, 41, at their home in Church Green, Shoreham, and asked her to pick them up.

Police stopped her as she drove to meet them and asked why she was out alone at that time of the morning.

She told them she had argued with her husband and had left the house to get some fresh air.

She was allowed to continue and met the three men in School Close, Southwick.

Two got into the car and the third climbed into the boot to hide from police.

Stephenson drove the three men a few yards with the car's lights off before ordering them to get out.

She later gave a statement to police denying all knowledge of what had happened.

The fugitives hid in a garage in Twitten Close, Southwick, and were later picked up by Stephenson's friend Lynda Cole, who drove them to the Downs near Durrington and left them.

She returned to her home in Stoney Lane, Shoreham, where police later called as part of house-to-house inquiries.

Police told her they were treating the stabbing as attempted murder.

She said she had heard about it and thought it had been something to do with drugs.

At that stage, she also told officers she knew nothing about the stabbing or who was involved.

Cole later returned to Durrington. She said she believed she was going to pick up the two younger men and bring them back to Shoreham to give themselves up.

She said she was horrified when she saw James Richards was still with them because she knew he had a reputation for violence.

He ordered her to drive them to London which she did, still believing "the boys" would be going back with her to Shoreham.

When they arrived at an address in North London, Richards ordered his son and Kelly out of the car, telling them that if they went back they would "get a beating from the police and be unrecognisable".

The three spent the next three days in hiding with the two boys repeatedly asking to be allowed to go home to their mothers.

They claimed they were frightened of Richards and scared of what he would do if they tried to leave.

After three days he abandoned them and fled to Northampton where he was arrested a week later by armed police.

When they realised he had gone, Kelly phoned his mother and asked her to see a solicitor to make arrangements for them to return to Sussex to give themselves up.

Cole drove to London and picked them up from Wembley railway station before heading back to Brighton to meet the solicitor.

The rendezvous was arranged for the Q8 petrol station at the Patcham roundabout on the A23.

Undercover police were waiting and as their car came to a stop it was surrounded and everyone in it was arrested.