A paramedic who helped police officers injured in a frenzied knife attack has been praised for bravery.

Paul Kelly, who is based in Kenton, was commended after he put himself in danger to treat three Harrow police officers who had been stabbed by a paranoid schizophrenic brandishing a knife in Kingsbury Halal Butchers, Kingsbury Road.

He was one of three members of London Ambulance Service staff and a volunteer from St John Ambulance who were awarded the Chief Executive Commendation at a ceremony on Thursday last week.

Mr Kelly said: “It is a real honour to be given this award, although I am sure any paramedic would have done the same in that situation.”

The attack began on November 19, 2011, when 33-year-old Christopher Haughton, of Milford Gardens, Harrow, was approached by Harrow police officers in Kenton Road, Kenton, after a member of the public saw him shouting and acting agitated.

Haughton bit PC Stephen Barker on the arm and threw bricks and other missiles at the officers.

He went into the butchers where he grabbed a 10-inch knife and lunged at his pursuing officers, injuring three of the four officers.

Mr Kelly, 40, said: “The man was still inside with a knife, but I knew that there were people in there who needed help quickly.

“I went into the shop and made my way over to one of the injured officers and started to treat him. He was very calm, but it was a chaotic scene. Thankfully some of his colleagues, as well as my own crewmate, were there to help.”

At the Old Bailey, in December last year, Haughton was convicted of a series of offences relating to the attack and for an incident in south London a month earlier, for which he was apparently seeking revenge. He was ordered by the judge to be detained indefinitely under the Mental Health Act.

The four officers were commended for their acts of bravery by the Commissioner, Sir Bernard
Hogan-Howe, in March this year.

Two other medics from London Ambulance Service were commended for their brave actions after they rushed to the aid of a patient, who was drowning in a canal in Enfield, while a volunteer with St John Ambulance was recognised for stopping at the scene of a serious traffic collision while off duty and providing first aid until an ambulance arrived.