A MAN who attacked two police officers with knives after letting them into his home has been referred to a mental health unit.

At a hearing at Wood Green Crown Court on Wednesday, November 24, William Edwards, 41, admitted two counts of attempted grievous bodily harm and one of affray, following two incidents in April this year.

Problems started when Edwards, of Jackdaw Court, Harrier Road, Colindale, approached a mother and two children in a park brandishing a meat clever and started shouting “I live here”.

The group fled and reported it to police, who the next day were called to his home where he had been seen throwing bottles from the window of his flat.

He let the officers, PC Neil Fielding and PC Jon Godfrey, into his flat and appeared calm, so PC Godfrey left to make other inquiries, leaving PC Fielding alone with Edwards.

However, when he left Edwards became agitated shouting “I’m Mr Edwards, I’m Mr Edwards” and PC Fielding contacted his colleague asking him to return.

Edwards stormed into his kitchen, where the floor was slippery with spilled alcohol, and slammed a washing-up bowl onto the table, revealing several knives, before picking up one with a 12-inch blade and hurling it at the officers.

He then picked up two more and moved towards them, ignoring their requests for him to stop, so they sprayed him with CS spray, which had no affect.

PC Godfrey escaped into the hallway but PC Fielding could only run to a bedroom, where he struggled to close the door as Edwards flailed the knife through the gap trying to stab him.

He eventually escaped when Edwards went to another room and he was eventually subdued by officers with riot shields who stormed the flat.

PC Fielding said: “I honestly feel that we were lured into this. Edwards kept trying to get us to enter the kitchen, where he had concealed the knives and soaked the floor.

“If we had walked into the kitchen on that slippery floor he would have had us trapped.  He managed to lock my colleague out of the house during the attack and I had to struggle to keep him out of the bedroom where I took shelter.

“I could feel the air from the knives he was holding as they passed in front of my face. If my colleague had not kicked open the door to distract him I don’t know what would have happened.”

Despite the terrifying nature of the attack he said he returned to duty the next day.

He added: “It might be frightening, but we are police officers and we know that there are dangers in our work, we accept these when we join.

“Nevertheless at the time I was still in my probation and I do hope that the rest of my career will not be quite so challenging.”

Detective Constable Geoff Davies, of Barnet CID described the event as a “sinister and calculated attack”.

He said: “We were lucky that it was trained officers who confronted Edwards. Any member of the public who encountered Edwards that day could have lost their life.

“Both these officers were fortunate to be unharmed - both of them are very brave.”

Edwards has been admitted to a secure mental unit pending sentencing in January.