I thought I was going to die as I used teddy bears to fight off sword attack

A FATHER shielded his wife and daughter from being attacked with a sword by using a pillow and teddy bears.

Henry De Los Rios Polania was sleeping when an intruder broke into his home on April 30.

He woke up to see the man looming over them, he told the BBC.

‘I thought I was going to die… I believe a miracle happened in that room,’ he added.

Searching for something to fend off the attacker, all he could find was a pillow and soft toys.

The IT engineer stressed he could not reveal exactly what happened while police investigate.

But he said: ‘I protected my family. I will do everything for my family.’ The 35-year-old – released from hospital yesterday – was slashed in the arm during the ordeal and needed ten hours of surgery to repair his injuries.

Doctors initially feared he would lose a finger but they have managed to save it.

His wife and child were not injured, but he fears his daughter will suffer from the trauma she experienced.

‘I just hope she doesn’t remember anything,’ he added.

Three others, including two police officers, were injured in a stabbing spree in Hainault, north-east London.

And Daniel Anjorin, 14, suffered fatal wounds to his neck and chest after being attacked in the street.

More than 300 people gathered for a vigil to the schoolboy on Sunday.

‘I feel so sorry for his family. When I got to the ambulance, I saw him on the floor. It shouldn’t have happened,’ said Mr Los Rios Polania.

His family hasn’t returned home since the incident and are considering moving away from the area.

‘We need to continue with our lives. But my next house, I’m going to make it really safe. I don’t want anyone to come from the outside,’ he said.

Marcus Aurelio Arduini Monzo, 36, of Newham, has been charged with murder.