A trainee journalists working for the Camden Gazette captured on camera shocking images of a man being stabbed in a London street.
Ed Davey, 23, who has worked on the paper for just four months, took photographs of two men fighting in a drug-related incident resulting in one being stabbed in the head. Bystanders held one of the men back until the police arrived.
Davey offered himself as a witness to the police and interviewed one of the men involved in the fight who claimed he had been chasing a drug dealer.
He told Davey: "I hate all the drugs causing ruin and destruction in my neighbourhood."
The Gazette ran the story and pictures under the headline: "Knife crime is all too bloody real".
After the incident Davey realised he had narrowly missed being stabbed himself while taking pictures.
He said: "I was driving past and suddenly saw in my rear view mirror two men run out and start fighting in the middle of the road. I screeched to halt, got out my camera and started taking pictures.
"I suddenly thought – if the knifeman wins this fight I might be next. It sounds a cliché but I was acting on pure adrenaline. You know you've been in the thick of it when you come back to the office with a blood stained notebook."
Davey's story was picked up by national newspapers and TV stations. He is hoping Camden Council will waive the parking ticket it issued him during the fracas.
North London Newspapers group editor Tony Allcock said: "Ed has this uncanny knack of always seeming to be in the right place at the right time. He's come up with a string of exclusives in his short time with us and this is more than just coincidence. His inquisitive nature and his sharp news sense enable him to 'stumble' upon stories that many reporters would never find."
A 42-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm.
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