I thought he'd died

RESIDENTS have told how they heard horrific screaming as the peace of their quiet street was shattered by the frenzied stabbing of a soldier.

- PATRICK HILL and SIMON MURPHY

The chilling sound of the attack near an Army barracks was captured on a doorbell camera.

And there are claims the alleged knifeman was seen running his finger across the blade and licking it as distraught locals looked on.

One of them was the victim's wife, who reportedly rushed from her home in a bid to drag the attacker off her stricken husband.

The uniformed soldier, in his 40s believed to be a lieutenant colonel was last night in hospital in a "serious but stable condition".

There were unconfirmed reports the suspect's brother may have known the victim.

Neighbour Alex Reynolds, 38, said of the attack: "The first thing I heard was a piercing scream.

"When I went down there I thought it was a scuffle between two people, but as soon as we got there we realised it was more.

"I saw a man on the floor, he wasn't moving so initially we thought he'd died." Alex's dad Simon, 66, who is visiting from Spain, added: "I've never heard screaming like that. Someone was in terrible distress. It sounded like hell."

On the doorbell footage a woman could be heard screaming: "What the f*** are you doing? Get off him." The alleged knifeman fled on a motorcycle. Another woman who claimed she saw him after the stabbing said: "He had a helmet on but he didn't have his face covered. I saw his face."