Nottingham survivors speak of horrific Valdo Calocane attacks for the first time

Two survivors of the have spoken for the first time about their horrific experiences. Wayne Birkett and Sharon Miller were mown down by paranoid schizophrenic Valdo Calocane in the city centre in June 2023.

He had killed students Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar, both 19, and school caretaker Ian Coates, 65, minutes earlier. Calocane stole Ian’s van after brutally stabbing him to death before ploughing into three pedestrians. Fork-lift driver Wayne and cleaner Sharon were on their way to work in the city centre when they were hit. The pair told the they feel a strong sense of survivor’s guilt following the tragedy.

Sharon recalled: “I saw the van, and the next minute I’m in the air. I thought I was dying - all I could see was white. I broke my toe, five ribs, I lacerated my spleen, and I've got a big hole in the back of my leg that got badly infected.” Sharon, 46, now uses a walking stick and has been unable to return to work after suffering serious orthopaedic and psychological trauma.

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“I’m still in a lot of pain. I don’t like going out. I was never like that before,” she said. Wayne, 61, has no memory of the attack and struggles to recall any part of his life prior to the incident. He spent more than six weeks in hospital with complex brain and physical injuries.

They were so severe he has had to re-learn basic skills such as reading, cleaning his teeth, and holding his knife and fork. The Leeds United fan even had no idea why he had a tattoo to the Yorkshire club on his arm.

“My legs hurt all the time, my back hurts and I get all the time,” he said. "It’s horrible not having any memory and not remembering people you've known and worked for.

“I would have swapped my life for one of those poor students - without a doubt. It was awful hearing what happened to them [in the court case]. What happened to me was nothing compared to that.”

Sharon added: “When I heard what had happened to Barnaby or Grace, I thought, ‘I wish he'd took me instead of them’.

“They were so young and still had their lives ahead of them - you just feel so guilty. You should be able to go to work, and they should be able to walk around; Ian should have been able to get into his van and go to work.”

A third pedestrian, Marcin Gawronski, was also injured in the hit-and-run. Calocane is serving an indefinite hospital order after admitting three counts of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

He also admitted three counts of attempted murder in relation to the hit-and-run. Sharon and Wayne are among those expected to give evidence to a public inquiry into the attacks, chaired by Judge Deborah Taylor.

Their solicitor, Greg Almond, said: “They want to put their story across and make sure they're not forgotten survivors.”