A parking enforcement officer from Watford witnessed the horror of Saturday night’s London Bridge terror attack first-hand after taking his two daughters on a sightseeing trip through the capital.
Tunde Ogunro, from Garston, was watching the Champions League final between Real Madrid and Juventus when his partner asked him if he could drop off a birthday cake she had made to an address in Bermondsey, south east London.
After the match the 49-year-old - who works in St Albans - his partner and two daughters decided to make the journey together so they could do “a bit of sightseeing” on the way.
They first spotted the flashing blue lights of the emergency services as they approached the Borough Market area of the city.
It was here that three men – Khuram Butt, Rachid Redouane and Youssef Zaghba – drove a van into pedestrians before carrying out a stabbing rampage which left seven dead and 48 injured before they were shot by police.
Khuram Butt and Rachid Redouane were shot dead by police
READ MORE: London Bridge attackers named by police
SEE ALSO: Increased police presence in Herts following London Bridge terror attack
“I thought it was just London on a Saturday night – we couldn’t see what was going on – but then we heard gunfire,” he said.
His initially thought the shots were in fact fireworks but Mr Ogunro pointed out there was no sign of them in the night sky.
“It was at that moment we saw people running,” he said.
Mr Ogunro’s partner wound down the window to ask what was going on and was informed that police were shooting at terrorists attacking people in the vicinity.
“The girls went ballistic. We couldn’t get out of the area – we tried to use the side streets but every road we turned into the police were already there,” he said.
They were pointed in the direction of Elephant and Castle, and told to wait there by police until the situation was under control.
They were eventually allowed to leave and returned home by around 2am.
Mr Ogunro said the experience had left one of his daughters badly shaken.
“We don’t want these guys to win but if you are in close proximity to something like this it is really scary,” he added.
“One of my daughters said she would never go into London again. What do I tell her? All she wanted to do was some sightseeing.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here