A knifeman “caused terror and fear on an unimaginable scale” to passengers when he stabbed 10 people on a London-bound train, a court has heard.

Anthony Williams, 33, is accused of attempting to murder 10 passengers and staff on an LNER train on 1 November last year and stabbing four people in the 24 hours before.

Christopher Paxton KC told jurors at Cambridge crown court on Wednesday: “The defendant, Mr Williams, armed with a knife, caused terror and fear on an unimaginable scale, moving up and down a busy train from which there was no escape, stabbing several people as he did so.”

During his opening statement, Paxton showed a CCTV clip of a passenger, Stephen Crean, attempting to wrestle a knife from Williams.…