Two UK brothers have been sentenced to seven years each in prison after attacking an off-duty Metropolitan Police officer with a machete during an attempted e-bike robbery in Luton, Bedfordshire.

Hannan Mahmood, 20, and Humar Mahmood, 19, pleaded guilty to charges including grievous bodily harm with intent, robbery, dangerous driving, and possession of offensive weapons. Both had prior convictions.

The attack occurred on November 2, 2023, outside a mall where Police Constable Darren Attwood was shopping with his wife. Upon witnessing the robbery of an electric dirt bike, Attwood intervened, using a plastic barrier in an attempt to stop the suspects from getting way.

CCTV footage captured the moment the officer attempted to block the Mahmood brothers while they slashed at him with a machete. During the assault, one of the attackers said, “Just kill him.” PC Attwood suffered non-life-threatening stab wounds to his arm and chest.

“I didn’t go into town expecting to be stabbed,” Attwood later said. “The victim of the robbery didn’t go into town to get robbed. We were just doing our normal day-to-day activities.”

Attwood, a former soldier, described the experience, saying, “I felt one [blow] on my arm. The second one [said] 'just… kill him' and I thought 'this is not ideal' [but] I cannot let [them] get away," he said according to the Daily Mail.

Both suspects were arrested and charged after the attack. At their sentencing in Luton Crown Court, the judge imposed an additional five years on probation for each brother in addition to their seven-year custodial sentences.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley praised PC Attwood: “PC Attwood was off duty, on his own and without his personal protective equipment. But his instincts told him something wasn't right so he bravely went to investigate and confront criminals armed with machetes,” Rowley said.

“It is thanks to his courage and to the subsequent work of Bedfordshire Police that two violent offenders are now behind bars. The public are safer as a result,” he added.

“There is a saying that the police are never off duty and in my case at this time, that was true,” Atwood said.