Search Search. Menu Sections. Paul Williams Email. At two minutes to ten on the evening of June 3 a white Renault van was driven south across London Bridge. Six minutes later the van crossed the landmark again, this time travelling north over the Thames. At the northern end of the bridge the vehicle suddenly made a U-turn and gathered speed as it crossed the river for a third and final time.
On a balmy night in midsummer, the bridge was also packed with pedestrians. Tourists mingled with Londoners as they walked toward the heart of the capital and its famed clubs, pubs and restaurants. The van, laden with Molotov cocktails wine bottles with rags in the neck filled with flammable liquid mounted the pavement and smashed into terrified pedestrians at high speed, eyewitnesses said, killing three people outright and causing multiple casualties.
The first calls to the emergency services from London Bridge were logged at seven minutes past ten. The Renault van crashed on Borough High Street and the three occupants - all armed with kitchen knives strapped to their arms - ran into nearby Stoney Street and stabbed four people who were in and around the Borough Bistro pub. The stabbing rampage continued as bystanders bravely hurled chairs and tables at the attackers who witnesses said were shouting: "This is for Allah. It is remarkable, even in a city that is permanently on a state of high alert for terror attacks, that the three terrorists were shot dead less than 10 minutes after the first frantic calls came in from London Bridge.
A young girl leaves a message of support on the base of the obelisk on London Bridge following the terror attack in which eight people died.
Photo: PA. But even in that brief and terrifying assault, eight people lost their lives and dozens were injured, many of them critically.
