Wayne Broadhurst's spaniel, Harry, stayed at his side as he died in west London
The 5 News short on the sentencing, built around the dog, drew far more viewers than the channel's plainer report on the same hearing.
5 NewsStory of Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 131,424 views a day, 18 times a normal first day on this channel (7,366).
Man’s dog, Harry, kept vigil at his side as he died after ‘random, frenzied’ knife attack
Wayne Broadhurst was a street sweeper, 49 years old, out walking his spaniel in west London in October last year when he was stabbed to death. The court called it a random and entirely unprovoked attack. Harry, his dog, was with him on the street as he died.
5 News told the story on Monday, the day the man responsible was sentenced. He was given an indefinite hospital order after admitting manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, and the court heard he was in the grip of psychosis. He was also found guilty of the attempted murder of his landlord, at whose home the attack began. A 14-year-old boy was hurt as well, and jurors could not reach a verdict on that charge. Members of the public tried to stop him before police used a Taser and arrested him. In the three days before, the court heard, he had seen his GP, had a mental health assessment at Hillingdon Hospital and asked for help at Hayes Police Station.
The short was watched nearly 89,000 times in its first twelve hours. A new upload on the channel usually ends its whole first day near 7,000. The same afternoon, 5 News posted a second report on the sentencing, titled around the hospital order rather than the dog, and it has drawn only a fraction of those views.
The comments have come in about eight times faster than on a usual first day for the channel's shorts. Many viewers write about Harry. Many more ask why a killing with fourteen stab wounds ended in a manslaughter plea and a hospital rather than a murder conviction and prison.
Published on Trari
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- Channel
- 5 News
- Subscribers
- 201,000
- Channel views, last 7 days
- 973,710
- Channel views, pace per day
- 15,406 (on a normal day: 166,449)
- Video published
- October 5, 2026
- Video views so far
- 88,788 (less than a day online)
- Video views, pace per day
- 131,424
The numbers
The numbers show a short that ran far ahead of anything the channel usually sees on a first day, on the strength of a single sentencing report.
