A knifeman threatened to kill four more people after launching a frenzied attack on Sir David Amess, a court has heard.

Ali Harbi Ali, 26, stabbed the veteran Tory MP 21 times after arranging an appointment in Leigh-on-Sea on October 15 last year, jurors heard.

Yvonne Eaves and her partner Darren King arrived at Belfairs Methodist Church for the next meeting, only to be confronted by Ali wielding a bloody knife, the Old Bailey was told.

On Tuesday, jurors heard Ms Eaves’ 999 call, in which she described the fast-moving events.

She told the operator that the attacker had killed Sir David and was threatening to kill them and two of the MP’s female staff at the church.

She said: “Please, please, quick. Now the man is wielding a knife, he’s threatened me… He’s killed David Amess at Belfairs Methodist Church.”

Asked what was going on, she said: “He’s still wielding the knife, he’s saying he’s going to go and finish him off. He’s got the knife, he won’t put the knife down.”

Ms Eaves appeared to call out to her partner to “come away”, adding: “It’s horrible, it’s horrible.”

She described the weapon as a “big kitchen carving knife” about 12 inches long.

“We tried to get it off him. He won’t. He’s threatened myself, he’s threatened four people here.

“We need an ambulance as well. He wants to get shot apparently. He wants to be a hero. He wants the police to come and shoot him,” she said.

She said the knifeman was on the phone “spouting some crappy foreign language” while Sir David was in the back of the church.

She went on: “He’s wielding the knife now. He said if we don’t leave him he will stab us, me and my partner, and the two ladies from the constituency here.”

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Asked about the casualty, Ms Eaves replied: “He’s dead. He’s dead. He stabbed him multiple times.”

The operator questioned whether they were being held hostage, Ms Eaves said: “No, no, no, we can get out but we cannot get to David to give him any assistance and he’s wielding the knife and he’s saying if you go near him…”

Ms Eaves described the attacker as a black male, about 6ft tall, and with black curly hair.

The operator told her armed units were en route and advised her to take deep breaths.

Ms Eaves seemed agitated as she appeared to call out to her partner: “He’s gonna try and stab you. Darren, Darren come out… He’s trying to stab us.”

The court heard that two unarmed plain-clothes police arrived on the scene and apprehended Ali, who dropped the knife.

Earlier, prosecutor Tom Little QC took the jury through a timeline of events leading up to the 69-year-old MP’s death.

Police pieced together Ali’s activities from hundreds of hours of CCTV footage and data from his laptop and mobile phone.

Ali, from Kentish Town, north London, has denied preparing terrorist acts and murder.