With knife crime a national epidemic, new statistics show British city-dwellers now stand more chance of being stabbed or robbed at knifepoint than being killed or seriously injured in a road accident.

That's why ZOO enlisted the help of ex-SAS soldier Andy McNab to find out exactly what you should do if you ever come under attack from a knife-wielding hoodie.

Having walked out of countless precarious situations in Northern Ireland and Iraq, Mr McNab knows a thing or two about hand-to-hand combat, and the first thing he tells us is to forget everything we think TV has taught us about knife attacks.

According to McNab, the way action is portrayed on TV is totally out of touch with reality - and copying the movies is precisely what will get you hurt.

"It's all bullshit," Andy says. "In the street, it's all about avoidance. No matter how well trained you are in martial arts or how hard you might think you are, you run the risk of losing if you get into a knife fight. And with knives, that could mean death."

So, the best way to survive a knife attack is simply to stay clear.

"It's all about anticipation," Andy continues. "In the Army we have ‘combat indicators'. When soldiers are on patrol in Afghanistan and there are no kids on the streets, it might mean there's an ambush waiting around the corner. There are similar signals if a fight's about to break out in the pub - if you see guys taking off their watches and jewellery, it's likely to be close to kicking off.

"When you're out in a club or bar you have to be constantly asking yourself, ‘What if?' ‘What if somebody pulls out a knife? Which way do I go?' That way, if a situation does evolve, you're already one step ahead.

"If you do happen to have a knife pulled on you and the perpetrator's not within arm's length, then he is outside of what we call the ‘striking distance'. If that's the case and he can't reach you, leg it! And if you have to run across his reach, palm the relevant hand away as you go past."

However, if all that fails and your attacker is already up close, click here for Andy McNab's simple yet effective guide to wriggling out of a stabbing...

Andy McNab's Tour Of Duty is available on DVD from 3 November, priced £19.99 from Lionsgate.

PUB FACT: Andy McNab was once knifed in the arm with a machete in Bogota, Columbia.