'I swung as hard as I could': Hero officer who took on London Bridge attackers with his baton speaks for the first time
A police officer who was stabbed in the eye as he attempted to stop the London Bridge terrorists armed with only his baton has spoken publicly for the first time.
Wayne Marques suffered wounds to his head, arm and leg in the attack earlier this month, leaving him seriously unwell in hospital.
The 38-year-old, who had been with the British Transport Police for just under two years, was one of the first officers on the scene of the 3 June atrocity.
Describing the moment he took on the first attacker, Pc Marques said: "I took my baton and I racked (extended) it. I took a deep breath and then charged in.
"At this point I didn't realise there was more of them. I just saw the first one. I charged at him and I swung at him as hard as I could. I was planning to take his head off in one go.
"I didn't catch him as good as he managed to get his hands up but I heard him yelp in pain. I hit him hard enough that he stumbled back at least a metre."
As he started to overpower the first attacker, Pc Marques received a "massive whack" to his head from the second attacker.
"It felt like a metal bar at first, only afterwards I realised it was a knife," he said.
"The second one hit me so hard on the side of the head it knocked the lights out of my right eye, I went blind straight away."
Pc Marques, who was born in Birmingham but lives in south London, said his memory is "patchy" of the night, but he remembers realising he was in "serious trouble" after he came under sustained attack from the terrorists.
"The next thing I remember is I've got the second one, the shorter one, and the third one, he's bigger than the other two, and with one eye and the baton in my hand I'm fighting left to right, left to right, between the second one and the third one," he said.
"While I'm fighting with them my left leg starts wobbling, I don't understand what's going on. I'm thinking what's wrong with my leg?"
Pc Marques describes sustained attack from all three terrorists
He continued: "I look down and I can see there's a knife moving up and down, moving up and down, and then I realise the first one had got back up and got back into the fight.
"He was carving me up and down. Then I knew I was in serious trouble."
The attackers - Khuram Shazad Butt, Rachid Redouane and Youssef Zaghba - killed eight people when they drove a van into pedestrians on London Bridge before going on a stabbing rampage in Borough Market.
All three were shot dead by armed officers within eight minutes of the first call to police.
After a number of operations, Pc Marques was discharged from hospital on Friday, almost three weeks after the attack and now takes about 25 pills each day.
He cannot walk unaided, has a scar above his eye, struggles to grip with his left hand, and has lost feeling in the right side of his head where nerves were severed.
Looking to the future, he said: "Hopefully with the right help and the right care, I'll get my legs back - that will be a great feeling, I am looking forward to getting my legs back definitely."
He paid tribute to colleagues who helped him on the night and the medical staff who have looked after him since.
On going back out on to the street as a BTP officer, he said his family and partner do not want him to return to that role, saying: "You've done enough."
He himself said it is too early to say whether he will be capable of being a police officer again.
He said: "That decision may be taken out of my hands depending on what state I'm in in the months ahead.
"When that bridge comes, I will make that decision. The only clear answer I have for you about being a police officer is it's what I'm good at. I'm good at what I do."