SURVIVOR Robert Lewis is set to be honoured for trying to save Mr Monk during the ordeal.

The Recorder of Cardiff, Nicholas Cooke, QC, told the court he would request Mr Lewis receives an official commendation for bravery in recognition of his efforts.

He said: “He did not know if it was a toy gun or not, he was not armed and he tried to save his friend.

“He tried to save his friend at risk of his own life, courage of the highest order, normally only seen in war times or from members of the armed services.

“It is one of the greatest acts I have come across in my many years on the bench.”

Grandfather Mr Lewis had worked for the company for five years and had never met Carter before the incident.

During the trial he told the court how thoughts of his family spurred him on to break free from his restraints and try to overcome Carter.

Mr Lewis told the court how he was beaten, bound and gagged by Carter who later placed a plastic bag over his head and taped it in place.

Jurors heard he feared he would die but, thinking of his family, he managed to break the cable ties on his wrists and rip the bag off his head.

He confronted Carter who hit him on the head with a metal bar knocking him unconscious.

He suffered a fractured cheek bone and had 16 stitches in the back of head.

Worker Gethin Heal, who was injured in the incident, set up a new business after being made redundant from Driverline 247 when it started losing money earlier this year.

Mr Heal, 46, from Pontnewynydd, Pontypool, who worked for the company as a recruitment advisor for three years, was made redundant from Driverline 247 after Mr Monk's death and now runs his Inspiring Food For Wales selling Welsh cheese, smoked fish and a range of chutneys made by Welsh producers in Pontypool Indoor Market.

Mr Heal told reporters the ordeal began when he heard a noise in the office, turned round and saw Carter with a gun. He was “petrified”.

He said: “There was one scream that got quieter which was Kingsley screaming for help and the scream is haunting. "Then quieter and quieter and then I never heard him again after that. I thought everybody was dead. I hadn’t heard Bob murmuring or talking to Russell for some time. I hadn’t heard Nathan since he came back in working on the computer and I honestly thought everybody was dead and I was just waiting for my turn."

He said he smelled smoke and manage to get the cable ties off his feet to escape, finding Nathan Taylor outside.

But the ordeal has taken its toll on him.

He said: “Even with the tablets, I can’t sleep. I keep seeing things and I keep going through my mind what could I have done different. "Could I have confronted him when he came in more and Kingsley would still be here.

“I liked Kingsley. It was an honour to work with him. I just wish I could have done something to save him that day.

“Even though my wife keeps telling me there’s nothing I could have done, I feel like I let him down."

Mr Heal said he was “very angry” after hearing about Carter’s previous convictions during the trial.

Mr Heal also told the Argus: “I found it hard to mix with people after the incident.

“It got to a point when I would not leave the house after dark and I thought everyone was looking and pointing at me."

He said his business venture has helped him as he tries to recover.

Nathan Taylor worked for Driverline 247 for seven years.

He interviewed Carter when he applied for a job at the agency.

During the trial jurors heard the panicked 999 call he made when the incident ended.

Giving evidence he told the court Carter ordered him to show him how to transfer more than £18,000 via the internet to Carter’s wife bank account during the ordeal in which he was tied up, gagged and had petrol thrown over him.