Two survivors of triple killer Valdo Calocane's knife and van rampage say they wish the monster had "taken us instead of the students". Sharon Miller was one of three pedestrians mown down by a van driven by the paranoid schizophrenic after he had fatally stabbed University of Nottingham students Grace O'Malley-Kumar and Barnaby Webber and school caretaker Ian Coates.

Ms Miller and fellow survivor Wayne Birkett have today spoken out about the attacks - and their feelings towards Calocane - for the first time. Speaking for the first time since the atrocity in 2023, Ms Miller described how the orthopaedic and psychological injuries she suffered in the attack have left her unable to return to her job as a commercial cleaner - having rarely had a day off sick during her previous 27-year working life. The 46-year-old continues to undergo rehabilitation and now walks with a stick.

Calocane, now 33, spent hours stalking the streets of Nottingham before knifing friends Grace and Barnaby, both 19, as they walked back to their halls of residence after a night out in June 2023.

He then ambushed grandfather Mr Coates as the 65-year-old drove to work, going on to use his van as a weapon to mow down first Mr Birkett and then Ms Miller and factory worker Marcin Gawronski, 42.

Ms Miller says that, unlike Mr Birkett, she remembers the van ploughing into her at the junction of Parliament Street and Market Street, saying: 'I thought I was dying. I just wish he had taken me instead of the students.'

Ms Miller, from east Nottingham, finds it difficult to still see Calocane's face in the news, saying: "He should be in prison. He should have been forced to have had his medication."

In February an independent report revealed Calocane had no contact with mental health services or his GP for about nine months leading up to the killings - after he was discharged when he repeatedly failed to engage with medics.

The triple killer was not forced to take his anti-psychotic medication in part because he did not like needles, the review of his NHS care revealed amongst a catalogue of failings.

Ms Miller, talking to the BBC, describes herself as being a "different Sharon" since the attacks and now relies on her partner of 33 years, Martin, to be her carer.

She also revealed the couple's plans to marry have now been put on hold.

Both Ms Miller and Mr Birkett say they wish it was them that Calocane had killed, rather than Barnaby and Grace who had "their whole lives ahead of them".

Mr Birkett, then a forklift truck driver, had just stepped off a bus when he was struck from behind by Calocane - a Nottingham graduate who had grown-up in Pembrokeshire - and catapulted into the air.

The 61-year-old sustained life-threatening and life-changing injuries, including a head injury which placed him in a coma.

He also suffered multiple orthopaedic injuries including fractures to his shoulder and legs and still suffers from poor memory, headaches and dizziness.

He has no memory of the attack, or real recollection of what life was like before the accident, struggling even to recall events from the previous day.

He said: "People who I've known for 40-50 years have to explain who they are. It's embarrassing and frustrating. I've had to relearn how to read, write and even use the television."

But he added: "I feel lucky, because the other two people who got run over saw what happened."

Mr Birkett credits his partner, Tracey, with "saving my life", adding: "It's Tracey that keeps me going."

Last month, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced the forthcoming public inquiry into the Nottingham attacks would be chaired by Her Honour Deborah Taylor, a retired crown court judge.

Mr Birkett, from Newark, Nottinghamshire, and Mrs Miller hope the inquiry will deliver answers as to why Calocane was left free to roam the streets despite multiple encounters with police, university officials and healthcare professionals in the years leading up to his rampage.

The killer had been sectioned four times, come to the attention of police over acts of aggression - some involving other undergraduates in Nottingham - and had been wanted for nine months after he failed to attend court in September 2022 over an alleged assault on a police officer.

A month before the killings he was reported to Leicestershire Police after he attacked two employees at a warehouse in Kegworth - the force's response to that report is currently the subject of an Independent Office of Police Conduct investigation.

Ms Miller said: "We seek to understand how someone with paranoid schizophrenia - who had been detained multiple times under mental health provisions, faced allegations of physical assault requiring police involvement, and consistently refused medical treatment for his condition - was able to commit such an atrocity.

"We call for a coordinated approach among agencies to ensure accountability and lasting change."

Mr Birkett added. "The government needs to ensure sufficient resources moving forward for these trusted institutions to improve, including better mental health provisions, improved justice facilities (such as appropriate court buildings), and a more transparent East Midlands police function.

"As survivors, answers and recognition is essential for our journey toward closure."

The two survivors and their lawyer, Greg Almond, have met with Prime Minister Keir Starmer to discuss the public inquiry and share their experiences.

Mr Almond, a partner and Head of Serious Injury at Rothera Bray Solicitors, said: "What became clear after the attack is that, unlike Manchester, Birmingham, or London, Nottingham lacks a high-profile advocate for the city.

"Along with the other families we've had to campaign and lobby intensely to secure an inquiry on behalf of Wayne and Sharon.

"Considering the number of agencies and official bodies that came into contact with Calocane, we would have expected an inquiry to be announced much earlier by the previous government.

"A significant number of fundamental questions remain unanswered about how he was able to carry out the attack from which lessons must be learnt, and changes implemented if the public's trust is to be resorted in Nottingham's institutions."

To the fury of relatives of his three dead victims Calocane was sentenced to a hospital order after pleading guilty to three counts of manslaughter by diminished responsibility and three counts of attempted murder.

Mr Justice Turner said told the killer he would be detained in a high-security hospital "very probably for the rest of your life".