The incident happened in St James’ Park on April 18 (Picture: Reuters)

A man who brandished a kitchen knife at armed police stationed in Horse Guards Parade was hoping to be shot dead, a court has heard.

Prashanth Kandhaiah is accused of ‘swinging’ his five-inch blade at two Ministry of Defence police officers at the site of the annual Trooping the Colour in Whitehall, London, in April.

Southwark Crown Court was told the then 29-year-old had searched online for the 2019 London Bridge terror attack, in which Usman Khan was killed by police, the day before the incident.

Pcs Ravinder Digpaul and Ryan Pariso were stationed in the parade ground in St James’ Park when the knifeman ran at them before pleading with them to ‘shoot me’.

Pc Digpaul recalled moving his MP7 carbine rifle into position, changing the safety catch to fire, but lost his footing as Kandhaiah chased him.

‘At this point I was scared for my life. I wasn’t sure what he was capable of, if he had any other weapons,’ he said.

He told jurors that he felt ‘very vulnerable’ and ‘scared’ and was ‘trying to do anything I can really to avoid being stabbed’.

Whitehall was shut for several hours after the incident (Picture: Reuters)

Forensic officials work at the cordon after the road was closed by police following the attack (Picture: Reuters)

Prosecutor Suki Dhadda said the officer kicked out at Kandhaiah, ‘desperately trying’ to keep him away, as he stood over him ‘swinging his knife in his direction’.

She said: ‘Pc Digpaul was extremely fearful he was going to be stabbed or, worse still, killed.’

Taking out his Glock pistol, the officer was moments away from pulling the trigger before his colleague, Pc Pariso, tasered the knifeman, jurors heard.

Ms Dhadda said that after he was handcuffed and arrested, Kandhaiah ‘pleaded with officers to listen to him when he said that he wanted to be shot on that day’.

‘He said he wanted to kill himself,’ she added. ‘He said he wanted to be shot by the police officers.’

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As well as searching online for the terror attack, Kandhaiah had also entered terms including ‘rat poison can kill people’ and ‘I hate Britain’ in the months before the incident, the prosecutor said.

She added: ‘Whether or not he wanted to get himself shot on that day, he was nevertheless prepared to run at Pc Digpaul, armed with a knife, swinging that knife towards him and, the prosecution say, attempting to stab him – an attempt that was only thwarted by Pc Digpaul’s kicking out at the defendant to prevent him becoming too close to be able to do so and the quick actions of Pc Pariso.’

Kandhaiah, from Thamesmead, south-east London, denies attempting to commit grievous bodily harm.

The trial continues.

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An armed police officer was moments away from pulling the trigger of his Glock.