Hero Matt McKiernan told today how he battered the Belfast knifeman with his son's hurling stick fearing he was about to witness a Lee Rigby-style beheading.Speaking exclusively to the Daily Mail Mr McKiernan, 32, told how the Sudanese attacker shouted: 'I'm going to kill him, Wallahi [I swear by Allah], he's dead.'He and his friend, who only gave his name as Andre but who is trained in Brazilian jujitsu, jumped out of their car to rescue the bloodied victim on the floor.The pair had stumbled across the horrifying incident by chance as they took a short-cut to a petrol station last night.Matt, from West Belfast had been driving, and said: 'I turned into Kinnaird Avenue and I could see another car stopped in the middle of the road a little further up.'The woman driving then began reversing at speed as though she was trying to get away from something.'She stopped as I approached and I drove round her and as I did so we could see what looked to be two men fighting in the street, with one on top of the other.'This was late at night and so we thought we better go and break it up. Andre was in the front passenger seat and he jumped out first. Hero Matt McKiernan was armed only with a wooden stick when he led a trio of members of the public to rescue the attacker's victim from death The young father (R) had grabbed a hurley stick - used for the Irish sport of hurling - when he arrived home after a night out to find the horror unfolding on his doorstep Matt McKiernan (L) was armed only with a wooden stick when he led a trio of members of the public who tried to rescue the attacker's victim from certain death'He's trained in Brazilian jujitsu and so he approached them to separate them but as he got closer he saw the knife. It looked to be a serrated steak-knife but with a broken handle.'He shouted to me that the man attacking the other had a knife and to get something to help.'The attacker was by now shouting and he said 'I'm going to kill him, Wallahi, he's dead'. And then he stabbed him in the eye.'At this point I thought this was another Lee Rigby type of incident. I really thought someone was going to lose their life.'I'd taken my son to hurling practice earlier that evening and so I'd got out of the car, gone to the boot and grabbed his hurling stick.'Instinct took over and I ran over and I smashed this guy over the head with the hurling stick. Right on the flat side, about three times. As hard as I could.'Andre was a few seconds behind and he came running in and tried to subdue the attacker with an ankle-hold so he could free the victim.'I hit this guy again, hard, but it didn't seem to phase him. He did stumble back, though and dropped the knife. I think another man who'd been watching came in and kicked the knife away.'We were trying to roll the attacker onto his stomach to subdue him but he was struggling. The police then arrived and four officers took over before armed tactical support turned up.'The victim was still conscious. But he was weak with all the blood loss. At one point the attacker was trying to slash at his throat and he appeared to try and scream but couldn't muster the energy to do so. Social media footage shows a man standing astride a bloodied victim holding a knife to his throat and his fist in the air