Terrifying moment Charles Bronson threatens art teacher with makeshift spear after taking him hostage in prison in 1999 – as victim tells Channel 4 documentary how notorious inmate should only be released if he shows genuine remorse
- Terrifying CCTV shows Charles Bronson taking a man hostage with a spear
- The shocking incident happened in HMP Hull in 1999 and got Bronson life
- Victim Phil Danielson says Bronson should not be paroled unless remorseful
Terrifying CCTV footage showing notorious lag Charles Bronson threatening a hostage with a homemade spear has been unearthed as part of a new Channel 4 documentary examining whether ‘Britain’s most violent prisoner’ should be freed.
Bronson, 70, is the subject of a new Channel 4 documentary titled ‘Bronson: Fit To Be Free?’ which examines his case for parole from the life sentence imposed on him in 2000 after he took a prison teacher hostage for 43 hours in HMP Hull.
The documentary makes use of interviews taken over Zoom in 2020 between Bronson and George Bamby-Salvador, a paparazzi photographer who claims to have obtained DNA proof that Bronson is his father as well as testimonies from many of Bronson’s victims.
In one chilling clip, the man Bronson took hostage at spearpoint in 1999, former prison art teacher Phil Danielson recounts in detail how ‘terrifying’ Bronson had told him he was going to die.
He recalled: ‘I didn’t go on A-wing often, but that day I was substituting.
Phil Danielson has said the incident permanently affected his life
He recounted the attack in a new Channel 4 documentary
CCTV footage shows Bronson attacking Danielson with a homemade spear
‘It was a slightly more dangerous situation but there was no problem at all until Bronson appeared on the scene.
‘As soon as Bronson burst in the prison officer scarpered. I was terrified out of mind. It was like 5 minutes of horror. I’ve never been as frightened.
‘They talk about how you see your whole life flash in front of your eyes – well you do.
‘He grabbed me round the neck and he hit me in the face and I got lots of verbals: ‘You’re gonna die, you’re gonna f*****g die.’
‘I kept absolutely quiet. I thought “I’m going to die now. What’s he going to do? How’s he going to do it?”
‘Charlie then went down on one knee to jab the knife into my rips.
‘I could feel the point against my shirt.
‘He said: “Take your last breath because this knife is going in you.”‘
The documentary interviews Bronson himself, his son George Bamby and experts to interrogate the prisoner’s claims that he should be free
The documentary interviews many former victims of Bronson’s violence
Bronson, pictured on his way to a parole hearing at the Old Bailey in 2004, was first locked up for armed robbery in 1974
Danielson went on to say that the incident affected him permanently, adding: ‘The damage that was caused by him has moulded my whole life since 1999 – 23 years nearly.’
He was diagnosed with PTSD and acute anxiety disorder after suffering breakdowns and has been unable to work since the attack.
‘It will be with me for the rest of my days because if it hadn’t have happened I would probably just about now, at 60, thinking about retiring.
‘Mentally I couldn’t bring myself round to do it [to work]. That’s why it was decided that I was unfit to teach.
‘On a personal level, I’ll never forgive him for what he did to me and my life.’
READ MORE: ‘What the f*** am I still in prison for?’: Charles Bronson speaks to his son in video call ahead of parole hearing
The former teacher said Bronson admired him for being the only one of his hostages not to soil himself during the kidnapping.
Mr Danielson said that while part of him thinks justice has been done, Bronson needs to express regret for his actions before he is released.
He added: ‘I think he needs to show remorse and it needs to be documented remorse, not a load of clever talk to get in the papers.’
Since 1974, Bronson has amassed 17 convictions of a string of violent offences and has taken 11 hostages over his criminal career.
Bronson has made seven failed parole appeals and appealed his life sentence in 2004, describing his treatment in solitary confinement as ‘torture’.
The violent offender said he ‘over-reacted’ during the attack but did not say he was remorseful.
‘I went over the top as I normally do. I never hurt the man. Mentally, obviously I did. He didn’t deserve what he got, but did I deserve a life sentence just for wrapping him up?
‘When you’re locked up in a concrete coffin, 23 hours of a 24 hour day, sometimes in life you’ve got to do something mad.
‘The madder it is, the more dangerous it is, the better it f*****g is. I’ve gotta be honest with you, I’ve had a fucking party, you know.’
Ministry of Justice sources told The Telegraph that Bronson’s participation in the new documentary would likely hurt his chances of parole and means prison authorities will have cracked down on the legendary inmate’s freedoms.
In the interview, Bronson 70, said: ‘I’m focused, I’m settled, I can actually smell and taste freedom like I’ve never, ever done in my life.
‘I’m now anti-crime, anti-violent. What the f**k am I still in prison for?’
The parole board confirmed that Charles Bronson’s hearing is set for March 6 and March 8, and said that reviews are undertaken thoroughly and with extreme care.
Part 2 of the Channel 4 documentary will be shown on Channel 4 at 9pm this evening.
Both episodes will be available on All 4 from this evening.
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