Watch: Shocking video shows moment man lunges at paramedics with kitchen knives

Michael Hipgrave and Deena Evans were attacked by 53-year-old Martyn Smith at his Wolverhampton home in July 2020.

Smith was sentenced to nine years in jail on Friday after admitting two counts of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

Mr Hipgrave, from Coalbrookdale, Telford, was stabbed in the back, while Miss Evans was stabbed in the chest, suffering a severed nerve and a punctured lung.

The two paramedics went to Smith's home in response to a concern for welfare call.

After banging on windows and calling his phone, police agreed to try and enter the house in case something had happened to Smith.

"We'd only gone in about two yards, couldn't hear anything, then all of a sudden he appeared holding two very large kitchen knives," recalled Mr Hipgrave.

"If the police hadn't have been with us I don't think we would be here today to be honest. We were in a confined space, nowhere to go, no way of defending ourselves.

In her victim impact statement, Miss Evans, a mother-of-three from Willenhall, said she believed she was going to die.

"I lay on the grass bleeding heavily, whilst people tried to help me, 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," she said.

"I had to be treated by friends, which was not only hard for me, but was hard for them too, I sobbed whilst they treated me, apologising to them for being in that position."

After undergoing emergency surgery a few hours later, the 40-year-old said she has been in pain "every single day" since the attack, due to the chest muscle damage caused, and has had to rely on others to help her butter her toast and wash her hair.

She added: "I will forever look down and see my scar across my chest, painful and lumpy, a constant reminder of you and what you did. Everyday I take a variety of tablets three times a day to ease the pain, often leaving me in tears."

Smith has been jailed for nine years for the brutal attack.

Glenn Cook, defending Smith, said the 53-year-old had a depressive disorder which he suffered from regularly since 2004, with symptoms including anxiety and paranoia which had been "heightened" on the day he stabbed the two paramedics.

Sentencing him, Judge Michael Chambers QC said it's "not a case of severe mental illness and that does not absolve you of any criminal responsibility of what occurred".

"Ultimately, it's a matter of choice. Whereas it's accepted by the crown initially you thought they were intruders, when it came to the point of stabbing you must have known they were paramedics."

Judge Chambers is also recommending Mr Hipgrave and Miss Evans to receive a High Sheriff's Award to honour their "exemplary manor".