Stabbed London Bridge officer going back on beat
A POLICE officer who was stabbed in the face, leg and hand as he fought off the three London Bridge attackers with his baton has revealed he hopes to return to work next month.
Wayne Marques said that one year after the terror atrocity, in which eight people were killed, he had made “significant progress” and was able to walk again unaided.
The British Transport Police (BTP) officer had only just begun his shift when he heard screams as he patrolled with a colleague near London Bridge Station. He saw a disturbance outside a bar and thought he was witnessing a pub fight before realising what was happening.
He charged at Youssef Zaghba, Khuram Butt and Rachid Redouane, but was repeatedly stabbed and believed he was going to die.
He was temporarily blinded in one eye and suffered severe wounds to his head, left leg and left hand.
He had a series of operations and spent almost three weeks in hospital.
The officer, who is still undergoing rehab, said: “I’ve made significant progress. I’m much more independent, much more able, I’m standing, I’m walking, I’m talking, I’m able to socialise. I’m just trying to get as much of me back as possible. I’ve still got far to go but I’m on the way.” He conceded that his family still have concerns about his return to work but said: “I do know that the longer you are out, the harder it is to get back in. It’s a job that I enjoy. It’s who I am.”
He said he was trying not to plan too far ahead because there were unexpected setbacks, days when he wakes up in so much pain he is unable to train for a couple of days.
He said the long winter had posed an unexpected challenge, reminding him of his limits. “I’m still learning and I’m still working hard. So I have my plans, I have my intentions but I sort of have to be realistic about it.”
Speaking ahead of tomorrow’s oneyear anniversary of the terrorist attack, Pc Marques said the messages of support from the public when he was bedbound had proved a tower of strength.
“You go through stages where you’re stuck in a bed and you’ve got this time to keep thinking about things,” he said in an interview with BTP.
“Then you get these messages from people. You’ve never met them and you never will, in most cases. Just genuine, heartfelt, caring messages. It makes a difference. To me anyway.”
Zaghba, Butt and Redouane drove a van into pedestrians on London Bridge on June 3 2017 before stabbing others in Borough Market, where all three were shot dead by police.
It came as the family of James Mcmullan, 32, the only British victim of the attack, said their plans to remember him with a plaque had been blocked or ignored and that they had not been properly consulted about anniversary commemorations.
Simon Mcmullan, James’s father, told the BBC: “We, the victims, are the people who need to have input … not to be stymied and blocked and objected to at every turn.
“We have not been consulted in any way, shape, form or fashion. There has been no opportunity to input any personal desires or wishes into any aspect of this.”