A POLICE officer was stabbed in the neck by a paranoid schizophrenic with a vegetable knife, a court heard.

Timothy Walsh, 52, stabbed a police constable in the neck and arm in what was described as a ‘violent and frenzied’ attack after the officer visited his home following concerns for his welfare.

Fellow police officers had earlier knocked on his door for a visit and there was no response.

Officers then decided to force the door down, only to find Walsh standing there with a knife and he then started attacking the officer, prosecutor Simon Jones told Winchester Crown Court.

Mr Jones said: “The defendant had appeared and he immediately unleashed what the prosecution says was a violent and frenzied attack with a small vegetable type knife that you would expect to find in a kitchen.

“It was with that knife that that he attacked [the officer], stabbing him.”

He added: “For his part [the officer] could do very little, feeling powerless as the defendant’s arms were going back and forth towards him at a very fast rate.”

The officer was able to use his taser on Walsh which allowed other police officers to restrain him at his flat in the Portswood Road, Southampton.

The court heard that the officer suffered wounds to his neck and arms as a result of the incident.

A jury was shown police body-cam footage of officers knocking down Walsh’s door and then his attack on the police officer.

At the end of the footage, an officer was seen clearly injured and lying on the floor.

Walsh was arrested and faces a charge of wounding with intent to cause bodily harm.

However, he has a history of mental health issues including paranoid schizophrenia and did not attend court on Monday as he was deemed unfit to stand trial.

As a result, the jury are being asked to determine what happened rather than his guilt.

Recorder of Winchester Her Honour Judge Angela Morris told the jury: “Through no fault of Mr Walsh’s own he has been found not fit to stand trial and because of this there cannot be a trial in the usual way.

“You will not be asked to decide whether or not Mr Walsh is guilty.

“What you will be asked to decided is whether or not Mr Walsh did the acts that he is charged with.”

Walsh also faces four other charges - two for assaulting other police officers, one for assault on a mental health worker and one for assault causing actual bodily harm on a second mental health worker.

In one incident, two police officers and a mental health worker visited Walsh’s flat with a warrant to take him to hospital for assessment after he had a mental health crisis the day before.

When mental health worker George Mearns explained to Walsh they had a warrant to enter his home, Walsh became violent.

He punched Mr Mearns on the side of his face, punched PC David Grace twice and allegedly pushed PC Kate Wright against the wall causing her to hit her head.

Body-cam footage of this incident was also shown in court in which Walsh could be seen calmly talking to a mental health worker before suddenly lunging towards him.

In the last incident for which Walsh faces charges, Walsh repeatedly stomped on mental health worker Inga Zielniak.

Mr Jones said: “This is a compelling case that it is quite plain and clear the defendant has done all of these acts in each of its effects.”

The trial continues.