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Man ‘fought off Argos warehouse knife attacker with fire extinguisher’

A 30-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm and possession of an offensive weapon.

Sam Hall
Thursday 23 January 2025 15:39 EST
Joseph Denton, 29, was injured fighting off a knife attacker near Marlowe Way in Croydon, south London (Sam Hall / PA)
Joseph Denton, 29, was injured fighting off a knife attacker near Marlowe Way in Croydon, south London (Sam Hall / PA) (PA Wire)

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A man has said he fought off an alleged knife attacker at a Sainsbury’s Argos warehouse by hitting him on the head with a fire extinguisher.

The Metropolitan Police said officers were called to Marlowe Way in Croydon, south London, on Thursday morning to reports of a stabbing at a warehouse.

Five people – a man in his 50s, two men in their 30s, and two men in their 20s – were taken to hospital with stab wounds.

Their conditions were assessed as not life-threatening, police said.

A 30-year-old man was arrested nearby on suspicion of grievous bodily harm and possession of an offensive weapon. He was also taken to hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening.

Joseph Denton, 29, said he fought off the attacker who “sliced my finger open”.

Speaking at the scene, he told the PA news agency: “I was there for an audit and the company basically started shouting and saying: ‘He’s back.'”

Mr Denton, who had a bandage around his little finger, added: “He didn’t say a word. He was trying to kill me and I’d never seen him before in my life.

“I tried to lock the door, but where I couldn’t I had to just confront him and fight him basically.

“I got him on the floor and decided to hit him with a fire extinguisher, which sort of calmed everything down.

“And then people rushed in because he was on the floor at that point, and then we all just carried on attacking him until he left.

“I didn’t really have a choice to be honest. There’s one door he was coming through. So, there’s nowhere to go anyway, so I had to confront him.

“He had his thing just stabbing at me like a serial killer.”

Mr Denton, who is from Rayleigh, Essex, said the knife was “the size of my face”, adding he thought it was a “Rambo knife about eight inches, with all jagged edges”.

Chief Superintendent Andy Brittain, local policing commander for south London, said: “Officers responded quickly and arrested the suspect within an hour. An investigation is now under way.

“Based on initial enquiries we believe all those involved knew each other. Therefore we do not believe there is any wider risk to the public.”

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