A homeless man is being hailed a hero after protecting the 50 vulnerable people staying in his hostel when a suspected killer tried to break in. The man who allegedly killed three people in Nottingham and hit three others with a van is believed to have tried to enter Seely Hirst House on Mapperley Road through Trevor Proverb's window.
The former forklift driver explained he wasn't having it, and claims he punched the intruder in the face, which sent him backwards, before Trevor slammed his window shut. Trevor said: “He wasn’t getting in my gaff – if he had it could have got messy.
"Others could have died. I could have been his next victim.” It has been reported that the man returned moments later to try and smash the glass, but then walked off reports The Daily Mirror.
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A security guard at the hostel has also been praised by residents for his "calm" response. The guard kept his distance and monitored the intruder, it has been reported that the man tried to buzz the hostel to get in, and asked the guard: “Is this a hospital?”
To which he was told “no, it’s a hostel." The incident was caught on cctv.
The man walked away, and a short while later caretaker Ian Coates was stabbed to death in a nearby street. The suspect is believed to have then fled in a stolen white van before ploughing into three people in the city centre.
Trevor, who has lung and mobility problems, said it was lucky he was awake at the hostel, which he moved into three months ago after returning from his job in Europe. Trevor had opened a window that night to help his asthma.
He said: “If I’d been asleep, more people could have died. I was surfing the net when I spotted something. I saw his face as he grabbed the window frame. I thought it was a burglar.
“I told him to eff off. But he never said a word.
“He was staring blank. I punched him in the face with a right hook, which forced him down. He came back and hit the window with something wrapped in a carrier bag but the glass wouldn’t crack so he left.”
Resident Jordan, 25, praised Trevor and the security guard, saying: “We all heard the banging. I feel lucky.”
Resident Jason Derbyshire, 50, said: “I woke to someone hammering on the window next door. The man was dressed all in black and calm as hell. He just stood in the arch. He had his back to us just staring at the hedge opposite.”
Trevor was unhurt but said he “feels” for the victims. The 31 year old suspect arrested by police has not been named, but locals said they recognised him.
Earlier that morning, Barney Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar were knifed to death on Ilkeston Road. Police stopped the suspected murder suspect at 5.30am, and CCTV shows an officer aiming his taser at him before the man was pulled from the van.
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