Man slits own throat with a Stanley knife in packed Woolworths

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The shocking scenes happened on Thursday as the store in the centre of Penzance, Cornwall, was packed with shoppers.

Witnesses said the 23-year-old local man had been seen stalking the streets and threatening passers-by. He then went into the shop and made for the hardware section where the grabbed the knife and began brandishing it at terrified customers.

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The Woolworths store in Penzance has been closed

Staff managed to guide families away from the man and out of the shop. They then tried to reason with him while a 999 call was made.

But the man then turned the knife on himself and slashed at his neck. He died minutes later after cutting a major artery.

A South West Ambulance spokeswoman said: "There was no way this man could have been saved. These types of blades for DIY work might be small but they are very sharp.

"If the jugular in the throat is cut then the person will die very quickly.

"This would have been horrifying for anyone at the scene."

One woman in the town Hayley James, 45, said it was lucky the incident happened in term time or the store, a favourite for toys and games, would have been packed with children.

She said: "Even so there would have been mums and dads with little tots in there. It must have been a nightmare."

The horrifying incident started just after 3pm when the man walked into the shop.

Terrified staff saw he was carrying the knife and could see he was distressed, and they started to clear people out.

But before anyone could prevent him the man, said to be in his twenties or thirties, started slashing himself with the blade.

Members of the Penzarice town centre CCTV team were among the people who called 999, telling the operator they could see a man at the store covered in blood.

Another caller was kept on the phone by the operator as they were said to be "very distressed" and needed to be "talked through what to do".

Onlookers told ambulance staff that they believed the man was local to the area and suffered from mental health problems.