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Train stabbings 999 call handler up for award

Helen BurchellCambridgeshire
EEAST Nicole Douglas is sat at a desk looking at the camera. She has long, dark hair and is wearing a headset and a green shirt. There is a telephone on the desk as well as various monitors.EEAST
Nicole Douglas had only been working in the role for two weeks when the first call came in about the mass stabbings

A call handler who took the first emergency 999 report during a stabbing attack on a train that left 10 people injured has been nominated for a national award.

People on the LNER service from Doncaster to London King's Cross were seriously hurt shortly after the train left Peterborough on Saturday, 1 November.

Nicole Douglas said: "At first, it seemed like only a couple of people were injured, but it quickly became clear there were multiple casualties."

She had only been working in the control room for two weeks and is now a finalist for Call Taker of the Year in the Control Room Awards 2026.

Passengers and staff on the 18:25 service from Doncaster raised the alarm and Anthony Williams was arrested when the train was met by armed police at Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire.

Getty Images Black-clad police officers and emergency crews wearing green-and-yellow coveralls and helmets on the platform of Huntingdon railway station, where a train has stopped.Getty Images
Emergency crews and police met the train at Huntingdon railway station in Cambridgeshire after 999 calls from those on board

Douglas works at a control room in Norwich for the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust's (EEAST).

She qualified as an emergency medical technician in 2020 and had recently returned to the ambulance service after a career break, retraining as a call handler.

As she realised the scale of the incident, she said: "We needed to send resources, but the train was still moving.

"Fortunately, I was able to confirm it would stop at Huntingdon station."

Nominating her for the award, colleagues praised her professionalism, highlighting her composure, resilience and commitment so early in her training.

Phil Evans, acting senior operations centre manager at EEAST, said her actions were "nothing short of brave".

"She remained calm and made sure to get as much information as possible so that we could get help quickly to patients in need."

The winners will be announced on 9 July.

Williams, 32, from Langford Road in Peterborough, is charged with a total of 13 counts of attempted murder, which also relate to other alleged attacks in Peterborough and east London prior to the train incident.

His trial date has been set for October.

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