A MUSLIM fanatic who was set free in a prison bungle went on the rampage with a combat knife and threatened to behead people he came across in the street.

One of the victims of the drama told last night how he still has terrifying visions of the armed dangerman and also flashbacks to Lee Rigby's execution.

And he called for an inquiry into how the knifeman was moved from detention to be deported, but because the Iranian embassy was shut, he was simply released.

The Northern Echo:
WEAPON: The combat knife

Noureden Mallaky-Soodmand - who has convictions in the UK for carrying blades, and 27 aliases - was then housed in a flat in Stockton and lost track of.

Teesside Crown Court heard how Stephen Daumler, 22, was approached in the street and was warned: "I'm a Muslim and I'm going to chop your f***ing head off."

Stephen, who was with a 15-year-old friend, fled from the scene as Mallaky-Soodmand pulled the weapon from the back of his trousers and held in the air.

Even after police arrived, the 41-year-old continued his racist rants, yelling at officers: "I'm a Muslim and I'll chop you f***ing head, mother f***ers.

"I'm Isis and my people will cut off your balls, Christians . . . I'll kill you, I'll kill you all . . . I'm going to chop your head off, and f*** you up."

Other people were threatened and more heard the chilling words from indoors before the emergency services arrived, said prosecutor Connor Quinn.

Julian Gaskin, mitigating, said Mallaky-Soodmand had downed one-and-a-half litres of vodka before the incident close to his home in Walter Street.

He told the judge, Recorder Simon Batiste, that the Iranian national has converted to Christianity since his arrest and remand five months ago.

When he was detained on April 2, he told police he was ready to fight for Isis, but maintained the accounts of all the witnesses were not correct.

Mr Recorder Batiste described the case as "extremely worrying" and said the threats to behead were "clearly reminiscent" of Fusilier Rigby's murder.

Jailing him for four years, the judge told Mallaky-Soodmand: "Clearly you are someone who, in the past, has been willing to carry weapons with you.

"I'm of the view that this offence, clearly by the nature of what was being shouted at different times, is something that can properly said to be racially-aggravated."

He added: "I am told by your advocate you have converted to Christianity, but I'm afraid I have grave doubts about that, given what you were shouting.

"I'm told you want to apologise to your victims. Given the fact you prevaricated with your pleas until the day of trial I have some scepticism."

Mallaky-Soodmand admitted making threats to kill and two charges of possessing offensive weapons - the knife and a wooden pole - as his trial was due to begin.

Mr Gaskin told the court he had been in prison but was moved to a detention centre, but was not deported in 2012 because of the closure of the embassy.

Last night, Stephen, who works for his family's salvage business in Stockton, said: "There needs to be a proper enquiry into how this man was allowed to stay in the country.

"He was clearly dangerous and he looked that night as though he was out to kill someone, when he came up to me and raised that knife I thought: 'I'm going to die'.

"To discover that he should have been deported long before he even arrived in Stockton is a shock, I don't know how a thing like that could have happened.

"He shouldn't have been allowed to walk the streets, he should have been back in his own country where he wasn't a threat to any British citizens.

"I am still dealing with the after effects of what he did that night. I still wake up panicking and have dreams about being beheaded. I've had some really dark thoughts about what happened to Lee Rigby.

"I really thought I was going to die the same way as he did and I'm certain by the look in his eyes that he was prepared to kill that night.

"I was walking to my girlfriend's dad's house, which is at the end of the street he was standing on. At first I thought he was a drunk and just walked past him on the pavement.

"He was in the middle of the road but he came over and blocked my path and drew a huge curved knife and started yelling 'I am a muslim, I am Isis' he was within arms reach.

"I turned and ran as fast as I could and my girlfriend's younger brother who was nearby rang the police. We both ran and when we looked round he was standing in the middle of the road.

"He had the knife raised and was waiting for someone else to come along. Thankfully the police arrived within about 15 minutes and took him down. It is pure luck that myself or someone else wasn't killed."