"I was numb, I am still numb," Smikie said.

The police officer was stabbed several times in the head.Despite undergoing emergency surgery, he succumbed to his wounds on Sunday afternoon.

"This news has shaken me to the core," said the leader of Baden-Württemberg, the state in which Mannheim is located."All our thoughts are with the officer's family, relatives and colleagues," Winfried Kretschmann added.The stabbing shows "the often incalculable risk police officers are exposed to every day", Mr Kretschmann said. "I would therefore also like to express my deepest sympathy to all police officers in Baden-Württemberg. We are all united with you today in deep grief."

Earlier on Sunday, around 800 people formed a human chain on the square where the attack took place. They aimed to send a message against "violence, hatred and agitation," organisers of the vigil said.The attack took place at the same time as a rally in the market square hosted by Mr Stürzenberger, a far-right activist. Part of it was livestreamed on YouTube.

The alleged attacker, believed to be a 25-year-old Afghan who arrived in Germany in 2014, was shot and injured at the scene.

His alleged motive remains unclear, according to police.If you have the stomach for it, you can climb the narrow crumbling stone spiral staircase to reach the roof of St Nicholas' Church in Rodmersham.

From the top of the Norman church you get a panoramic view of north Kent. Directly below there is an apple orchard, beyond that fields of arable farmland with the occasional house, and in the distance the town of Sittingbourne, silhouettes of Thames Estuary heavy industry visible against the sky.This is the land where Quinn Estates developers want to build 8,400 homes, new schools and a new road.

"It's an absolutely colossal development, it will have a devastating impact on this area," says Monique Bonney.She grew up in Rodmersham and after living and working across the world returned to the village. She got married in St Nicholas' Church and has been an independent councillor for the area for 18 years.