Knifeman's hostage shocked at sentence

A NURSE who was held hostage in her bedroom for four hours by a crazed knifeman has spoken of her shock after he was sentenced to just three months in prison.

Mary Johnston, 51, woke to find stranger Rafal Swiderski in her room and was barricaded inside as he leapt around her Broxburn home high on amphetamines and alcohol.

Armed officers were forced to fire two taser rounds and a baton round at the 20-year-old Polish immigrant after he charged at them with a knife and a broken bottle.

It was only the second time either weapon had been used by Lothian and Borders Police and the first time both had been used together.

At Livingston Sheriff Court last week, Swiderski was sentenced to three months, having already spent five months on remand.

Ms Johnston, who only managed to raise the alarm during the incident by discreetly texting her boyfriend, said she was shocked that he would soon be back on the streets.

She said: "I really thought he would get more than that. Considering what he put me through, and the psychological effect it's had. It's scary to think that he'll be out in just three months. The police have been really good but when something like this happens it makes a mockery of the system."

Ms Johnston previously told the Evening News how after the police arrived Rafal became more agitated.

She said: "I could hear the police arrive outside. This just made him more agitated and he began jumping on the bed, on the chest of drawers and throwing ornaments around.

"The police were saying, 'Rafal, Rafal, let the lady go. You don't need her.'

"I managed to push the bed away from the door until it was just wide enough to squeeze through. When I saw my chance, I ran for it. He saw me and ran after me, but I made it out the front door and managed to pull it shut behind me."

Swiderski turned his aggression towards police, charging at them with the knife. Officers discharged a taser round at the knifeman, however only one of the two barbs needed to subdue the suspect connected.

They were then forced to fire a baton round at Swiderski, before again firing another taser round at him when he charged at them with a broken bottle.

Last week Swiderski's solicitor Raymond McMenamin said his client's recollection of the incident was affected by the fact that he had taken amphetamines and alcohol and had been "under the impression that some person had been following him and had threatened his life", which was "a product of his own imagination".

Swiderski, of Douglas Wynd, Broxburn, West Lothian, earlier pleaded guilty to breaching the peace. Jailing him, Sheriff Graeme Warner said: "The only disposal can be one of custody."