A man who stabbed a police officer and attempted to set fire to a police van has pleaded guilty to attempted murder and attempted arson today.
Alexander Dighton, 28, admitted 10 offences relating to a violent attack at Talbot Green Police station in south Wales on the evening of January 31.
Dighton arrived outside the station dressed in a Tweed blazer, paisley waistcoat and checked shirt, brandishing a home-crafted weapon made from a long stick with a sharp metal head.
He tried to light a Molotov cocktail, which failed to ignite, before using the contents to try to set fire to a police van.
Four police officers then began to try to stop Dighton. He assaulted the first police officer and stabbed another.
Searches of his home after his arrest revealed journals which revealed anti-immigrant ideologies around a return to ‘traditional’ society.
Bethan David, Head of the Counter Terrorism Division for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Alexander Dighton planned to attack a police station to target police officers.
“When he failed to set a police van on fire, he smashed the police vehicles to provoke a reaction from officers so he could attack them, he then stabbed one.”
At a sentencing hearing on 13 May, the court will determine whether Dighton’s attack had a terrorist purpose or connection after hearing evidence of his motivation from the Crown Prosecution Service.
