Australian PM praises Manchester men for detaining stabbing suspect

Three men from Manchester have been hailed as "heroes" by police after they helped detain a knifeman linked to the death of a 21-year-old woman in Sydney.

Lee Cuthbert, Paul O'Shaughnessy and Luke O'Shaughnessy, all from Manchester, were working in the area when they heard the man attempting to stab several people outside.

They described the moment they apprehended the suspect as being likely down to "instinct", with dramatic eyewitness footage appearing to show a young man being pinned to the floor with chairs and a milk crate

Police said the suspect - a 21-year-old man from Maryong in New South Wales - attempted to stab several people in the Australian city, at around 6.15am BST (3.15pm local time) before being arrested.

A woman was found dead in a building nearby and police were investigating if the earlier stabbing at a hotel on the corner of Clarence and King streets was linked to the street attacks

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison commended the bystanders for intervening.

He posted on Twitter: "The violent attack that took place in Sydney this afternoon is deeply concerning.

"The attacker is now in police custody following the brave actions of those who were present at the scene and able to restrain him.

"The motivation for this attack has not yet been determined as police are continuing with their enquiries.

"Our thoughts are with all of those who have been impacted by this violent attack."

The brothers who ran to apprehend the knifeman in Sydney told PA they acted on instinct and do not see themselves as heroes.

Luke O'Shaughnessy, 30, said: "We heard a massive commotion outside and I looked outside and I could hear a man chanting.

"I looked over and he jumped onto a car, and he had a knife and (was) covered in blood.

"So at that point I kind of acted on instinct.

"I shouted 'Paul' and said 'Let's go, there's a man with a knife, it's a terrorist attack'.'

Paul O'Shaughnessy, 37, added: "It's almost like we've actually talked about it, like we've said 'hopefully we are around because if it's somebody with a knife and not a gun then we're quite physical lads'.

"He said 'I'd sort it out' and I've said 'Yeah, I would'.

"So it was almost instinctively around that to go 'Right, well let's sort it out'.

"I didn't even think about - and no disrespect to them - my young family.

"I just thought 'Is my brother going to be alright?' as we were running towards him.

"Luke's straight in there on top of him and I'm looking at the scene going 'there's a big knife there which is covered in blood'.

"Luke, in fairness, did not let him go, he didn't let go of the guy until he was fully cuffed and they'd picked him up.

"He's really heroic to me in my eyes, he's my brother.'