Darlington women who were caught up in London July 7 attacks look back 20 years on

Yahoo

3 days ago

Two Darlington women have recalled their panic in London 20 years ago today as the city came under attack by terrorists.
For Liz Lamb and Hayley Jones, July 7, 2005 is a day they will never forget.
On that Thursday morning a group of four Islamic suicide bombers carried out the UK's deadliest terrorist attack since the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 near Lockerbie.
(Image: PA) Within 50 seconds of each other at about 8.50am, three explosions rang out in the vicinity of Aldgate, Edgware Road and Russell Square stations. Just under an hour later, at 9.47am, a fourth device exploded on a bus that had been diverted via Tavistock Square.
Frantic commuters were initially told there was a "power surge" as they were directed to find other modes of transport. But, the situation soon became clear when police began to swarm streets and cordon off underground stations.
Exiting Kings Cross station just as its underground station was closed was Liz Lamb. Liz, who was a reporter for The Northern Echo at the time, had travelled to London to cover a court case.
Liz Lamb, 48. (Image: LIZ LAMB) "I was going to cover a court case at the High Court of Justice and was set to meet the barrister in Holborn," Liz, 48, said.
"My train from Darlington that day was a bit delayed and I should have got into London a little earlier than I did. Potentially, I could have been on the underground when one of the devices was detonated.
"But when I got off the train there was a guard with his arms outstretched, saying 'you can't come down'. There was a whole load of us there.
​"He said 'there has been a power surge' but couldn't say when it would be fixed and he didn't know what was happening.
"Everyone was a bit disgruntled, but we didn't think much of it."
The mum-of-two's next move was to take a bus to the High Court - which was travelling on the same route as the double decker that would soon explode at Tavistock Square.
It was at this point that she started to see police, ambulances and fire engines across the city. "On the bus we were thinking, 'What the heck is going on?'," she added.
Walking wounded leaving Edgware Road tube station to be treated at the London Hilton Metropole on Edgware Road. (Image: EDMOND TERAKOPIAN) "There was a lot of panic. I remember speaking to my mum on the phone very briefly and said that there was something strange going on."
By the time she emerged from the court an hour later, phone networks were down and news had broke about attacks across the city.
Luckily, Liz, now a lecturer in journalism at the University of Sunderland, was able to board a train home that evening - but every year on the anniversary of the attacks, she thinks of those who lost their lives that day.
She added: "It's hard to believe that 20 years have passed since that fateful day. Even though it was two decades ago, it was such a horrific attack on our nation that it is not something easily forgotten.
"My memories of 7/7 have faded in places, but when I read my own account recently, I became teary just recalling the sheer emotion and panic of that day, as people desperately tried to find out if their loved ones were alive.
The Northern Echo's front page on July 8, 2005. "So many people lost their lives, entire families were torn apart. Others were maimed and scarred for life, and countless others – including rail and underground workers, emergency services, and medical staff – were left traumatised by the horrors they witnessed.
"I visited London a week after the attacks to write a tribute piece, and I was overwhelmed by the sense of community and the floral tributes across King's Cross and Russell Square, which had come from across the country and around the world.
"It wasn't just an attack on the United Kingdom; it was an attack on humanity. My thoughts are always with those who lost their lives, and their loved ones left behind."
Also in London on July 7 was Hayley Jones - who works for Darlington Borough Council.
Hayley, who left The Northern Echo in 2006, was in the city with colleagues for an awards ceremony on July 6 and was waiting for a train home on July 7.
Hayley Jones, 50. (Image: HAYLEY JONES) Reflecting, Hayley told the Echo: "We were just sat waiting for our train on the concourse. The first thing we saw was a woman who had soot across her face. We thought, that's a bit odd.
"Then we saw another couple of people in the same way and a police officer screamed for us to get out. They told us it was a power surge so we waited outside the station thinking we would be let back in."
The first Hayley, 50, heard of the attacks was on TV alongside a crowd of people craning to see the screen as others heard a bomb had gone off on a bus.
According to Hayley, buses were abandoned and taxis refused to stop as she made her way to a pub where the news blared out emerging information about what was going on.
"When we were walking I got paranoid thinking what will they do next? I had convinced myself that there would be bombs in the bins.
Walking wounded leaving Edgware Road tube station to be treated at the London Hilton Metropole on Edgware Road. (Image: PA) "Eventually we managed to get on a train up north and at every station there were paramedics checking on people and handing out water.
"It was scary - but it was when I got home and turned the telly on that I realised how close we were to it really."
More than 770 people were injured and 52 people tragically died in the attacks.
In the weeks and months that followed, the four attackers were identified as Hasib Hussain, Mohammad Sidique Khan, Germaine Lindsay and Shehzad Tanweer.
Read more about the July 7 attacks:
BBC to air documentary series about response to July 7 London bombings
Family's anguish at 7/7 inquest evidence
Ten years after terror struck London
Leeds man Hussain, 18, was behind the Tavistock Square attack that killed 13 people. Thirty-year-old Khan, of Dewsbury, detonated his device at Edgeware Road, killing six.
Flowers left in Woburn Place, near the scene of the bus bomb blast in Tavistock Square. (Image: PA) Behind the deadliest attack, at Russell Square, was 19-year-old Lindsay from London - who killed 26 people with his device that exploded just after it pulled out of King's Cross station.
Tanweer detonated his device on a train between Liverpool Street and Aldgate. The 22-year-old, from Bradford, killed seven people.
All four men died when they detonated their devices.
A memorial service will be held in Hyde Park at 11.15am today where a memorial stands to those who lost their lives. It will be live streamed online.