Keith Banks, who is the chaplain at Glasgow Airport, told how four men wearing balaclavas stabbed him before dragging his body across the ground.

The terrifying incident happened while he was working in Papua New Guinea with the Salvation Army.

He told the Telegraph: “I was leading a refresher course for young officers out there and at the end of the first evening I popped to the loo while everyone went back to the dormitory hut.

“When I came out there were four guys wearing balaclavas.

“I ran from them but they caught me and stabbed me in the back and in the arm and dragged me across the gravel.

“It was very frightening but in a strange way I had a sense of calm and I remember thinking ‘God, please get me out of this because there is still so much I want to do for you but if not I’ll see you later’.” Miraculously, Keith, who has been in the Salvation Army for the past 52 years, managed to escape.

He said: “I had this incredible burst of physical energy and managed to break free from them.

“When I told my wife Pauline what happened we barricaded the door with the bed and sat there for half an hour and we could hear the gang going round.” After a tense wait, there was a knock at the door.

Keith said: “It was one of the officers and I asked him why they didn’t come and help me but he said that a man with a homemade gun held them hostage.

“He said that the gang had already killed someone on the road nearby.

“But I managed to make it to hospital — I felt lucky to be alive.” Despite the horrific ordeal, Keith and Pauline stayed in the country for four years to continue their vital work.

This is one of many remarkable stories Keith has to tell about the couple’s incredible life in the Salvation Army.

Sadly Pauline, inset, passed away seven years ago after she developed a brain tumour.

But Keith believes his wife, who was a member of the renowned SA pop group Joystrings, is still with him all the time.

He said: “I like writing music and playing the piano, and Pauline loved to sing.

“She always wanted to record a CD and in the few months before she died we managed to make it happen.” The sale of the CD raised £18,000, which Keith divided between the hospice which supported the couple before Pauline’s death, and the Salvation Army’s work in Papua New Guinea.

He added: “I went out to give them the money and they unveiled a plaque in Pauline’s memory, which was really lovely.” Months after Pauline died, Keith was offered his dream job as the chaplain at Glasgow Airport.

Keith, who praised his family and airport management for all their support, said: “I couldn’t believe it as it’s something I’ve always wanted to do.

“I love being with people, so it’s perfect.” Keith’s job involves helping nervous flyers, the recently bereaved or stressed out staff.

On one occasion, he helped a woman who was petrified of travelling by aircraft.

Keith said: “I met a young woman who was hysterical and was saying ‘I can’t get on this plane’.

“Her husband whispered in my ear ‘please get her on this flight because it’s our honeymoon’.

“We managed to get her on the flight, which was a great achievement.”