Praise for road sweeper 'who died trying to stop burglar'

A street cleaner who was allegedly stabbed to death by a burglar he confronted with a broom has been praised in court for his “sense of civic duty”.

Piotr Mikiewicz, 40, a Polish national, saw Roger Buckingham coming out of a semi-detached property in Shepherds Bush, west London, carrying a laptop and a kitchen knife, a jury at the Old Bailey heard.

Mr Mikiewicz repeatedly hit Mr Buckingham with his broom to stop him running away, but the burglar stabbed him in the chest with the knife and ran off, leaving him dying on the ground, the court heard.

Aftab Jafferjee QC, for the prosecution, said Mr Mikiewicz had shown a “laudable sense of civic duty” on 29 August last year which had cost him his life. “That man, armed only with his dustcart and broom, took on the defendant, striking him in order to apprehend him and prevent him leaving with the fruits of his crime,” he said.

Mr Buckingham, 31, of Shepherd’s Bush, denies murdering Mr Mikiewicz. The trial continues.