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Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Yahoo
Darlington women who were caught up in London July 7 attacks look back 20 years on
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.
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Yahoo
The day terror shook Britain: The 7/7 London attacks remembered, 20 years on
Twenty years ago today, Britain experienced its deadliest terrorist attack in almost two decades - when bombers targeted London's transport network and took the lives of 52 people. Thousands, including people from the North East were caught up in the devastating explosions and their aftermath. Today, 20 years on, we remember those impacted and the stories of those who survived. When rush hour commuters took to the London Underground and hopped on buses on Thursday July 7, 2005, there was no indication their journeys would be anything out of the ordinary. Unbeknown to them, a group of four Islamic suicide bombers sat among them and would soon detonate homemade bombs. 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. Initially, evacuated commuters from tube stations were told there was a "power surge", and to find alternative transport - but the reality and gravity of the situation became clear when police and emergency services swarmed and cordoned off parts of capital. The Northern Echo's front page on July 8, 2005 - a day after the attacks. "I will never know just how close I came to being on the bus that exploded in Tavistock Square yesterday morning," wrote Northern Echo reporter Liz Lamb, who was in London to cover a court case that day. "What I know for certain is that I was riding on a London Transport double-decker on the same route only minutes before the explosion. At the time, I thought I was safe. My miscalculation could have been a fatal mistake. "Even as I stepped from the train at King's Cross at 9am, two of the bombs that would cause so much misery had already detonated. The first explosion had torn a train apart at Liverpool Street station, the second had gone off at 8.56am in the King's Cross Underground station, below my feet. Flowers left in Woburn Place, near the scene of the bus bomb blast in Tavistock Square. (Image: PA) "Blissfully unaware of what was happening, I made my way to the Underground, where I was greeted by harassed staff stopping passengers going to the platforms below." She added: "I saw masses of people surging to the entrance, but they seemed to quickly disperse on the orders of London Underground staff, and I guessed they had migrated to nearby Euston. "But the first signs things were terribly wrong came as I made my way along the street and police cars converged on the station. Officers jumped out and began cordoning off Euston Road, one of London's central routes." Liz's solution to the chaos was to instead 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. The number 30 double-decker bus in Tavistock Square, which was destroyed by a terrorist bomb. (Image: PA) She added: "Less than an hour later, I emerged from London's High Court to be greeted by the news that a bus that had travelled minutes behind me in Tavistock Square had exploded. "I buckled at the news and the stark reality that I could so easily have been caught up in the devastation. "Text messages and phone calls from loved ones ensued. "It wasn't your time, " they cried." But it wasn't just Liz from our region who was caught up in the attacks. Chris Pearson, of Blackwell, Darlington arrived at King's Cross just after the first blast and saw the double-decker bus just minutes after it was targeted. Walking wounded leaving Edgware Road tube station to be treated at the London Hilton Metropole on Edgware Road. (Image: EDMOND TERAKOPIAN) "People walked around with no real direction but everyone was quite calm, " said Mr Pearson, who took refuge in Russell Park. Businessman Martin McTague from Heighington, was staying in a hotel near King's Cross and witnessed the "chaotic" scenes. "Hundreds of people seemed to be heading for King's Cross, " he said. "No-one knew what was going on. But there was a strange sense of calm and no hysteria." Both men returned to the region by plane. Walking wounded leaving Edgware Road tube station to be treated at the London Hilton Metropole on Edgware Road. (Image: PA) Lisa French from Newcastle had an unthinkably close escape in the Tavistock Square attack. Deciding where to sit on that busy bus ended up was a life saving decision for the then-BT employee. That day, when she could not get a train at Euston, she was directed to the No 30 bus and sat in the middle of the top deck, next to another female commuter. She said: "I asked her if I could sit with her, and I sat down and people were just chatting about what they thought was going on. It was quite calm." Then, as the double-decker approached Tavistock Square at 9.47am on Thursday the bomb exploded - ripping off the roof and splitting the side panels. Mangled wreckage and bodies were strewn across the road after the bus exploded - and harrowing images taken of the decimated bus have become etched in the memory of millions. "I just remember the light fading, which must have been the end of the flash," Lisa told ITV News. "As I looked up and looked around, the roof of the bus had gone and you could feel things coming over the back of your head - dust and smoke. "Everybody in front of us started to stand up and gaze around and everybody was just bewildered. People were screaming and shouting. There were sirens going off. "It was chaos, but it was very still standing on the top of the bus and looking around. She saved my life, the girl I sat next to really, when I chose to sit with her." Lisa, who had just arrived at King's Cross for a meeting in the capital, added: "It was almost like it had always been like that and you had just been put in the middle of it and you couldn't understand how it had got like that. "It was very eerie and very surreal, and just bewildering. The smell was awful. I have never smelt anything like it - just burning metal, and it took hours and hours, the smell didn't really go away until Friday. It was horrible." Lisa added that she thought people instinctively knew the explosion had been a bomb but did not realise it was on the bus. But she said that, unusually, people had been talking to strangers before the explosion because they had heard about the disruption to the Tube and were trying to work out what was going on. (Image: PA) After the blast, Lisa and other shaken survivors climbed down by the stairwell and ran into a nearby office building, but then were told to move by police. In reflection, she said: "I'll never worry about silly things again. It just makes you realise how lucky you are to be alive." Fears also grew for a party from Longfield Road School in Darlington, now known as Longfield Academy, who were in the capital for a theatre visit. But, a spokesman at Longfield Road School said the coach party had not been near the explosion areas and everyone headed home early as a precaution. A group of 44 pupils from King John's RC School in Bishop Auckland also cut short a two day visit and returned to County Durham. Walking wounded leaving Edgware Road tube station to be treated at the London Hilton Metropole on Edgware Road. (Image: EDMOND TERAKOPIAN) 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. 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. 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. 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 Two decades on, London and indeed the country has not forgotten the July 7 attacks. 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. Fifty-two steel plinths stand on the east side of the park - one for each victim.
