Lieutenant Colonel ‘attacked from behind and repeatedly stabbed on the ground’

A soldier seriously injured in a knife attack has been named as an experienced Lieutenant Colonel, as the man accused of stabbing him appeared in court charged with attempted murder.

Lt Col Mark Teeton is a long-standing serving member of the British Army who has been been a course manager for almost six years at the 1 Royal School of Military Engineering Regiment.

The father-of-two was airlifted to hospital after he was attacked outside his home near Brompton Barracks on Tuesday evening.

The serviceman, who is in his 40s, remains in hospital in a serious but stable condition.

Anthony Esan, who was arrested near his home in nearby Rochester, was later charged with Lt Col Teeton’s attempted murder and with posessing an offensive weapon in a public place.

He appeared at Medway Magistrates’ Court on Thursday wearing a grey T-shirt and was remanded in custody. He will next appear at Maidstone Crown Court on August 22.

Prosecutor Rajni Prashar told the court: “A member of the public called 999 to report a male had been stabbed.

“It was then reported that the victim was a soldier in uniform.”

She told the court a man was seen “running up behind” the Army officer before he “pulled the soldier to the ground” and stabbed him “repeatedly”.

According to a LinkedIn page, Lt Col Teeton has worked in various roles in the armed forces going back to 2001.

Earlier this year he raised nearly £2,500 for Combat Stress, a veterans mental health charity, by running the D-Day challenge in Normandy in June, a fundraising page showed.

He wrote ahead of the event: “In honour of our forefathers as well as current servicemen who have bravely fought to protect our way of life, I will be taking on the D-Day Challenge to raise vital funds for life-changing mental health treatment for veterans.”

After completing the gruelling challenge, he joked about passing out at the finishing line, and said in a video: “It was worthwhile... it’s a good amount of money to a fantastic charity.”

Head of the Army General Sir Roly Walker condemned the stabbing as “horrific”, while Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he was “shocked and appalled”.