Hostage slams soft sentence as knife maniac strikes again

A NURSE held hostage by a knife-wielding maniac has told of her shock - after he struck again just weeks after being released from prison.

• Previous victim Mary Johnston says Rafal Swiderski, below, should be deported after his latest attack

Mary Johnston said the case showed unemployed butcher Rafal Swiderski, 21, should never have been given such a lenient sentence for attacking her.

A court heard yesterday how Swiderski dragged the manager of the Haldanes supermarket in Broxburn, Danny Quinney, around the store, stabbed him twice in the thigh, spat vodka in his face and ran a blade across the back of his neck.

Polish national Swiderski admitted assaulting Danny Quinney, 22, and robbing him at the store on East Main Street on January 19.

It came just weeks after Swiderski was released from prison for holding nurse Ms Johnston hostage during an armed four-hour siege two streets away on May 22 last year.

The night nurse woke to find stranger Swiderski in her room and was barricaded inside as he leapt around her home high on amphetamines and alcohol. Her ordeal only ended when officers were forced to use both Tasers and baton rounds to bring him down.

Ms Johnston, 52, told the News Swiderski should have been imprisoned for much longer to keep the public safe. She said: "If he'd got longer than the three months he got with me - and he should have - it wouldn't have happened.

"To use a knife again just shows you. I would hope this judge will be stricter. That's twice he's committed an offence here and not just a trivial thing. He should be deported."

Swiderski arrived in the UK in March 2010 and has spent at least eight months in prison since then.

Yesterday Judge Lord Bannatyne was told that a customer saw Swiderski walking in and out of the supermarket's storeroom with an open can of beer in his hand, drunk, and with blood on his face. Advocate depute Michael Stuart, prosecuting, said as Mr Quinney approached Swiderski to see if he could help, Swiderski shouted "Beer!".

He held a knife towards the shop manager and again aggressively demanded beer.

Mr Stuart described how Swiderski grabbed Mr Quinney by the collar and began to push him round the shop then sat him down.

Mr Quinney tried to fob him off with a bottle of vodka.

"The accused took the bottle and drank from it," said Mr Stuart. "Without warning the accused raised his right hand and then stabbed Mr Quinney in the right thigh."

Mr Quinney was dragged to another food chiller by his collar. "The accused drank from the bottle of vodka and spat a mouthful of vodka into Mr Quinney's face," said Mr Stuart.

As the shop manager tried to wipe his face on his tee shirt, Swiderski ran his knife along the back of Mr Quinney's neck.

"The accused then began to pace across the floor in front of Mr Quinney before again stabbing him in the right thigh."

Customers and staff called police who came into the shop and drew their batons. Swiderski dropped his knife and was led away in handcuffs. Swiderski was found to have self-inflicted cuts to both arms and seemed to be hallucinating. He needed 19 sutures and a tranquilliser to calm down.

Mr Quinney needed a total of five sutures to the wounds in his legs but will be scarred for life, the court heard.

Swiderski was remanded in custody to await sentence next month.