A MAN who almost died at the hands of his co-worker exclusively told the Argus of his relief yesterday knowing that the man who killed their boss and tried to murder him is now behind bars. NATALIE CROCKETT reports.

SURROUNDED by family photographs at his Cwmbran home, Robert Lewis knows he is lucky to be alive.

Mr Lewis was one of four men held captive by disgruntled employee Russell Leon Carter who lay in wait for them at the Driverline 247 premises in New Inn, Pontypool, on October 20 last year.

Operations manager and father-of-two Kingsley Monk, from Oakdale, died in the incident, throttled by Carter with his own tie.

A jury of six men and six women found him guilty of Mr Monk’s murder and the attempted murder of Mr Lewis and his colleagues Gethin Heal and Nathan Taylor on Friday.

During the ordeal, Mr Lewis had a plastic bag pulled over his face and was coshed with a metal bar when he tried to save his boss.

Carter had also set the factory ablaze as he left, and one of the reasons Mr Lewis and his two colleagues did not also die in the fire is because the killer chose the wrong chemical as an accelerant for the blaze.

Yesterday Mr Lewis, who was praised by the Recorder of Cardiff, Nicholas Cooke QC, for his bravery in trying to save Mr Monk, spoke of his relief that the year-long wait for justice is now over.

He said: “It has been a long time but we knew it was coming. It was quite a stressful couple of weeks but we are glad for Kingsley’s family. It was the right result.

“We hope he serves the rest of his life in prison and they send him back to America out of the way.”

The grandfather of Jessica, three and Isabele, two, talked about a turbulent year of police statements, counselling, and an operation to fix his injured jaw.

But he said with the help of support of his family and friends he is trying to get some normality back in his life.

He said: “The physical injuries I have overcome, but the psychological effect will be with me for the rest of my life. It is not something that I am ever going to forget.”

Mr Lewis, of Croesyceiliog, said he thinks about the incident almost every day and said small things like seeing a stranger in the street often triggers thoughts of Carter.

He said he has trouble sleeping and was unable to return to work for four months after the ordeal because he was still receiving treatment for headaches caused by injuries he received during the incident. And in January, the father-of-two to Christopher, 28, and Richard, 23, was dealt another blow when he was made redundant from Driverline 247 because the company was losing money.

He said: “It was like a kick in the teeth.”

Mr Lewis struggled to find another job and applied for around 60 positions before he was offered the post of admin officer at the Department of Work in Pensions office in Newport.

Mr Lewis said he was glad to working again and said he will not dwell on the incident.

“We have just got to get on with life. I am lucky to be here and has made me appreciate life more, he said.

“It still seems unreal. Even though my name is mentioned in the paper and on the news, I still can’t believed it happened to me.”

Mr Lewis said has no feelings towards Carter and is just glad he has got what he deserves.

“He has a daughter and he still did what he did to Kingsley, knowing that he had a family and we had family. I am just glad it’s all over with and he has got what he was due.”

The former television engineer said he was shocked to learn about Carter’s past criminal convictions and that he had breached his parole in America by coming to the UK.

“How was he allowed to come into the country? That is my biggest grievance. It is a failing in the system, that will hopefully be rectified now," he said.

Carter, 52, of Penrhos Crescent, Rumney, Cardiff, is due to be sentenced on October 23 at Newport Crown Court.