A DEFENCELESS housing worker begged a murder bid knifeman 'please don't kill me' as he lunged forward and stabbed her in a terrifying office attack.

Peter Cannon brutally stabbed the River Clyde Homes employee in a horrifying unprovoked attack captured on office security cameras.

Cannon launched the unprovoked attack on the customer services adviser at the RCH base in Clyde Square after she asked how she could help him.

After the incident Cannon claimed: "I've been messed about not getting a house and stuff."

The High Court in Edinburgh heard that during an earlier admission to a psychiatric unit he revealed he had thoughts of murdering housing officers.

After viewing footage of the attempted murder a judge told Cannon it was "a deeply shocking event".

Judge Graham Buchanan QC said: "This is plainly a very serious matter indeed."

Cannon, 54, yesterday admitted attempting to murder the woman on September 30 last year as he appeared at the High Court in Edinburgh.

The court heard that at the time of the attack Cannon was of no fixed abode having previously held a housing association tenancy.

After abandoning it he was evicted in February 2019.

Advocate depute Richard Goddard QC said that during an admission to a psychiatric unit in December 2018 Cannon had stated he had intentions to harm housing officers and thoughts of murdering them.

The prosecutor said a psychiatrist contacted River Clyde Homes to make them aware of the threats and police were also contacted for advice.

Mr Goddard said: "It appears at that stage that all that was done was to put an alert on the association's computer system regarding the accused and sending him a letter stating that contact with them required to be written only."

The prosecutor said the victim, 45, was working at the RCH offices, where tenants can pay rent or seek advice, when Cannon arrived and was told to take a seat.

He had stayed at his ex-wife's home for the weekend but was told he required to find new accommodation.

The thug took a serrated steak knife from a knife block as he left.

After a 40 minute wait in the offices Cannon was told it was his turn to be seen and as he got to his feet he told other customers: "Don't move".

Mr Goddard said: "As he approached her desk the complainer asked how she could help him.

"The accused then produced the knife, lunged at her and stabbed her to the right side of her abdomen.

"She raised her hands to protect herself and sustained a further blow from the knife to her arm.

"The accused continued to make stabbing motions towards her."

"She kicked out at him to try and ward him off.

"She shouted 'Please don't' and 'Please don't kill me' to the accused.

"A member of the public aged 71 picked up a chair and threw it at the accused in an effort to protect the victim.

"She was then able to make her way into a secure rear office.

"Other members of the public fled into the street outside."

As Cannon left the office he said: "I want to go to jail."

When a passer-by shouted at him to drop the weapon he replied: "Listen, I've been waiting 13 years to do all this and I've been messed about not getting a house and stuff."

As the knife attacker put his weapon in a nearby bin he stated: "I'm not mentally ill."

Police rushed to the scene and arrested Cannon who was taken to the nearby station.

As he was being processed he was asked standard questions over whether he had thoughts of self-harm and replied: "Why hurt myself when I can hurt someone else?"

Paramedics took the woman he tried to kill to Inverclyde Royal Hospital where she was found to have suffered two stab wounds.

A CT scan revealed that the abdominal stab wound had penetrated her liver.

Mr Goddard said: "The complainer ought to make a full recovery in time however she has been left permanently scarred by the attack upon her."

"The opinion of medical staff is that the wound to the abdomen was life-threatening and that the complainer was very lucky to have survived an injury of this nature."

A psychiatrist who saw Cannon following the attack concluded that there was no evidence of major mental illness and that he was fit for trial.

Defence counsel John McElroy will give his plea in mitigation at a further hearing next month after sentence was deferred for the preparation of a background report on Cannon.

He was remanded in custody until the hearing at the High Court in Aberdeen next month.