Petra f iance: My knifeman terror while I pushed pram

Father fled with baby after maniac brandished ten-inch blade in park

A KNIFEMAN terrorised Petra Ecclestone’s fiance as he pushed his baby daughter’s pram in a busy park yesterday.

Sam Palmer told how he was confronted by the man near London’s King’s Road who pulled out a teninch blade.

Mr Palmer, 38, said his first thought was that it may be a terrorist attack, as the stranger came at him with the weapon outstretched.

The drama happened as he pushed 18month-old daughter Minnie in a pram in

‘It was like a horror movie’

St Luke’s Gardens, Chelsea, which was packed with mothers and shoppers.

The man had earlier caused panic on the King’s Road as he walked down the famous street brandishing the weapon.

Mr Palmer said: ‘I was out for a walk with the baby and as we entered St Luke’s Gardens, this man walked up to us. He pulled his brown sheepskin coat aside and pulled out a knife.

‘It was like a horror movie, he held the tip with his finger while he twirled the blade handle as he came towards us. It was really menacing. My first thought was it might be a terrorist attack, he was so calm as he kept coming towards us.

‘My only worry was for the baby at that point, it’s all you care about. I was thinking I wish I had a watch on to give him, but it wasn’t a robbery.

‘I was trying desperately to get the baby out of the pram as he came closer.

‘Our security was with us and he stepped in the way as he came towards us. I picked up the pram and I just got out of there. We stopped to tell others that he had a knife.’

Police arrived seconds later. The knifeman heard the sirens and was arrested a short time afterwards. It then emerged that he had been wandering down the King’s Road clutching the large blade, causing shoppers to scatter in panic.

The father-of-one said his fiancee Petra, 32, was terrified when he walked home minutes later in an agitated state.

The millionaire heiress, who is the daughter of former Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone, was not with him at the time of the incident.

‘The whole thing was really scary. I’m just glad she and the other kids weren’t there. There were lots of mums with kids in the park and thank God he targeted me, not them.

‘I was really shaken. He was within striking distance.’

Police later arrested a man on suspicion of possession of a prohibited offensive weapon.

Yesterday a spokesman for Scotland Yard said: ‘Police were called at 10.01am to reports of a man with a knife on King’s Road, Chelsea.’

He said a man had been taken into custody at a west London police station. There were no reports of any injuries.’