A man has been sent to a mental health hospital for stabbing a shop worker 30 times in a random attack.

Leon Scott, 41, of Drayton Close, Ilford, was found guilty of attempted murder at the Old Bailey on October 18 – last Thursday he was sentenced.

Scott stabbed his 31-year-old victim 30 times during the attack on Ley Street in Ilford on the morning of 27 November 2017.

The incident was witnessed by several members of the public, including a mother with her young children, and several schoolchildren.

The victim was speaking to two people outside the shop where he worked, when Scott, armed with two knives, suddenly launched his attack.

After several minutes and having stabbed his victim multiple times in different parts of his body, he casually walked off towards the Jaffa Road Estate. Jurors were told that Scott tried to cut the victim's throat.

A member of the public intervened to stop the attack and helped administer first aid before paramedics arrived.

The two knives used in the attack were recovered from the scene.

Scott was arrested a short time after the incident and charged on November 28, 2017, with attempted murder.

The victim was taken to hospital in critical condition. He continues to suffer lasting nerve damage to his arm.

Scott has been given a Hospital Order and a Restriction Order, meaning that he will remain incarcerated within a secure facility indefinitely due to the risk he poses to the public or until deemed otherwise by health authorities.

The victim said in a statement: "I am in so much pain and I can't sleep.

“I feel down because of my scars and the pain...I feel down, angry, depressed and I am scared to go out and I don't feel safe in public.

"I think about the incident all the time...I don't feel happy anymore, it feels like I lost everything. I have lost the will to live."