A suspected flasher allegedly tried to kill a police officer by "ferociously and repeatedly" stabbing him with a pair of large scissors.

A naked Robert Jenner was said to have launched himself at PC Sean Quinn after he and a colleague had gone to the 50-year-old's flat in Maidstone on June 15 last year.

They were investigating a report of a man seen running "completely naked" while carrying a backpack and "nipping in and out of bushes exposing himself" to women in nearby Mote Park.

Not only was the description given similar to that of Jenner, but just hours earlier he had been into the local police station asking officers to return some items of his see-through clothing that had previously been seized.

But when they arrived at his home in Albion Place, an abusive and agitated Jenner refused to allow them entry and barricaded his front door.

At one stage two more officers arrived and Pava spray had to be deployed.

But Maidstone Crown Court heard that once PC Quinn had managed to get into a kitchen and lounge area, he was attacked.

Jurors were told that because he was wearing a stab-proof vest, the scissors were deliberately aimed at his head, face, and neck by Jenner in his murder bid.

Not only did he ignore the shouts of his victim but also had to be punched several times by other officers trying to rescue their colleague before he desisted.

The court was told that PC Quinn suffered a total of 23 injuries from the scissor blades, with 19 to the face, head and neck, including a gaping wound across his forehead that exposed his skull.

Furthermore, the wounds to his neck could have had far more serious consequences, said prosecutor Daniel Stevenson at the start of Jenner's trial today (December 3).

He told the jury of six men and six women: "The Crown's case is that by attacking PC Quinn in the way he did, stabbing him multiple times to the head, face and neck, causing those wounds, he must have been trying to do more than just cause really serious injury. He must have been trying to end his life.

"The wounds to his neck had the potential to be fatal had they struck one of the main arteries in the head or neck. This is exactly why the defendant chose to stab PC Quinn in that area of his body.

"PC Quinn was on duty and wearing a protective stab-proof vest so what was exposed was his face, head and neck.

"We say, for whatever reason, the defendant chose in that moment to try to end that police officer's life and he continued to do so even when the other officers came into the room and commanded him to put the scissors down and punched him to the back of the head to do so.

"And that is why the Crown says that he is guilty of attempted murder."

Jenner denies attempting to murder PC Quinn, as well as the alternative, less serious charge of wounding him with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

At the start of his trial, Judge Philip St.John-Stevens told the jury that the defendant had exercised his right not to "presently" attend proceedings - a choice that they should not hold against him - but had the benefit of barrister Christopher Jeyes to represent him.

Due to his absence from the dock, a photo of Jenner was shown on a courtroom TV screen to ensure none of the jurors knew him before the case got under way.

They were also told that in respect of looking at "unpleasant" photos of the injury and the "upsetting" footage from the officers' bodyworn cameras, they should "have the strength to put any strong emotions to one side" in deciding the evidence.

But Judge St.John-Stevens added that although there was no dispute that Jenner used a weapon to inflict injury, the issue would be what he "intended to do" and whether he was acting in lawful self-defence.

The court heard PC Quinn was, and still is, a serving officer with the Kent force based in the Maidstone area.

On the day of the alleged attack, Jenner had attended the front counter of Maidstone Police Station to retrieve items of see-through clothing that had previously been seized from him by the police.

When his request was refused in the belief he would wear the clothes and in doing so commit an offence, Jenner left the police station, saying, “I’m going to strip off now, w******”.

It was at 7.50pm that Kent Police were alerted to the streaker who had been seen in Mote Park.

Mr Stevenson told the jury that PC Quinn and his colleague, PC Ashley Bates, had dealt with Jenner in the past, and, because of their knowledge of him, they considered that there were reasonable grounds to suspect that he was the male responsible.

As a result, they went to his home to speak to him and to ultimately arrest him.

After he refused to open the door however, there was conversation for about 15 to 20 minutes and when Jenner became abusive, they tried to calm him down.

Mr Stevenson said the camera footage of the incident, although shocking, provided "the best evidence" of the defendant's conduct and the consequences of it for the serving constable.

It captured Jenner, who was naked, with a settee blocking access into the flat. A hole in the front door had been made at one stage by another officer and the Pava was deployed in a bid to subdue Jenner.

This left the defendant and all four officers now present at the flat coughing from its effects.

Jenner, still agitated however, could also be seen brandishing what appeared to be a large pair of dressmaking scissors, with PC Quinn demanding that Jenner put them down or "I'll come over there and me and you are going to have a tussle".

But Jenner continued to wield them and, having gone back into the lounge area, PC Quinn climbed over the settee to join him.

The lights were off and the door closed behind them. It was at this point that Jenner, having been ordered to "Stop f****** around" by the constable "launched himself" with the scissors still in his hand, said the prosecutor.

"The defendant proceeded to stab PC Quinn by stabbing him in the head, face, neck and chest area. PC Quinn said several times 'No Robert, no!' before he began to scream for help," Mr Stevenson told the jury.

"The other officers heard their colleague and managed to enter the room. They saw their colleague lying on the floor with his back face-up and the defendant continued to plunge the scissors towards his head and neck area."

Even as one officer grabbed Jenner's right hand, he continued attacking the stricken and heavily bleeding officer, and was punched five or six times by another until he eventually dropped the scissors and was dragged away.

Mr Stevenson said that after his arrest, Jenner said words to the effect of "I didn't mean to do it" and "I didn't want it to come to this".

"The defendant’s defence is that he was acting to defend himself from what he believed was an unlawful arrest or unlawful entry into his flat, and on any view he did not intend to kill or cause serious injury to PC Quinn," he added.

But the prosecutor continued: "The Crown's case is that the number and nature of the injuries suffered demonstrates that in that moment in that flat the defendant was trying to kill PC Quinn."

Referring to the footage in particular Mr Stevenson said: "It shows, the Crown says, the defendant’s refusal to cooperate with the police officers, the use of a weapon targeted at PC Quinn’s face and head, and the ferocity with which the defendant was acting, all of which demonstrate that he was using unlawful violence, and that he was trying to kill PC Quinn in that moment in time."

A pathologist later concluded that the force required to inflict the wounds would have been moderate to severe.

“Initially I felt a thud - but I didn't comprehend what it was - across my head…”

Giving evidence, PC Quinn told the jury of the moment Jenner "charged" at him in an alleged murder bid.

He said that his reaction was to attempt to grab the defendant in a bear hug and although he had seen his attacker holding scissors just seconds earlier, he only felt what he described as "a thud" to his forehead.

The officer also said there was no time for him to draw any of his equipment, such as his asp, spray and handcuffs.

"He ran towards me. My first thought was he was trying to kill me for some reason and I thought I'm not going to die and get stabbed in the back," he recalled.

"So I ran towards him. Thinking fast, I wanted to grab him. I couldn't see the scissors at that point. The room had gone dark.

"Initially I felt a thud - but I didn't comprehend what it was - across my head. I carried on doing what I was trying to do and that was take hold of Mr Jenner and restrict his movements.

"I just wanted to bear hug him, keep hold and control him, get some kind of hold on him. I had no view at all of the scissors. I lost sight (of them). The room had gone dark."

PC Quinn said he may have been momentarily knocked unconscious and woke to find himself and Jenner together on the floor.

"I was on my back. He was on top of me. I was trying to hold onto him. I had no idea where the scissors were or if he still had them.

"I didn't know the damage that had been caused at that point."

“I think I said 'What the f*** you doing, Robert?' but before I got all the words out he launched himself towards me…”

The court heard that as Jenner was eventually restrained, the injured officer was dragged to safety. He was then airlifted to London's King's College Hospital but discharged the following day.

In the build-up to the attack, the officer described how, once inside Jenner's hallway, they could see that a sofa had been used to barricade the front door.

As police tried to push it out of the way, Jenner pushed back on it. At times, he was also said to have used the cavity created by the piece of furniture to crouch underneath it.

PC Quinn described how he then saw a "silent and sweaty" Jenner crawl up the back of the sofa towards him.

"At that point I thought he was complying with what we had been asking him to do and I kept encouraging him to come towards me," he explained.

"He was on his side slightly. I could see his left hand and he was crawling up the sofa. At one point he raised his right hand and I saw a pair of large, black-handled scissors on the back of the sofa which he then grabbed with his left hand.

"He then stopped coming towards me."

PC Quinn said it was at that point that he told Jenner to put the scissors down or they would "end up in a bit of a tussle".

Jenner, he said, froze and stared at him for a few seconds before retreating down the sofa and into his lounge area.

It was at that point that the constable followed him into the room, having also clambered over the furniture, and saw him sitting about three metres away with the scissors in his hand.

"I tried to speak to him. I think I said 'What the f*** you doing, Robert?' but before I got all the words out he launched himself towards me," said PC Quinn.

During cross-examination by Jenner's barrister Christopher Jeyes, the officer said that although Jenner was known to be "uncooperative" with police, he was not "aggressive or violent".

But he denied that he was angry and annoyed with Jenner, and told the jury that due to his previous knowledge of the defendant as well as his non-compliance that night, forced entry and arrest were necessary.

The trial continues.