
Witnesses to last night's terror assault on the capital said they thought the three attackers were jumping from a van to help to the wounded.

They recoiled in horror when the jihadi extremists began punching, kicking and brandishing knives at innocent bystanders.

The attackers - who were all gunned down after armed police arrived within eight minutes - leapt from the van after careering across London Bridge and mowing down up to 20 pedestrians.

One witness said: 'No one was hurt from the van impact but as the men got out the van they started kicking, punching and stabbing victims they ran over. It was a rampage.'

A witness named Eric, who was on the south side of London Bridge when he saw the van on the wrong side of the road, told BBC Radio 5Live: 'It veered to the right and people were trying to run away from it.'

When it stopped, he said three people got out and he thought they were going to help the people who had been hit.

He added: 'But the three people literally started kicking them, punching them, and took out knives. It was a rampage really.'

Horrified witnesses said they initially thought the attackers were leaping from their van to help the injured - they recoiled in horror when they began punching and kicking innocent bystanders and brandishing knives

The rampaging attackers are then reported to have run off towards nearby pubs and restaurants in Borough Market to continue their onslaught.

Earlier, it was reported a woman used her own body to barricade a the door of a restaurant as the three extremists brought bloodshed to the Borough Market area - killing seven people and injuring 48 others.

Taxi driver Aksha Patel said that the one of his passengers, an unnamed woman, blocked the door of the Black and Blue restaurant to prevent the attackers from getting inside.

Though she was only able to hold the door for a few minutes, her heroic actions allowed terrified revellers to flee to safety.

'There was two passengers, they came out of the Black and Blue restaurant', he told Sky News.

'How they described it to me was they were preventing the guys from getting into the restaurant. She knew they were bad people trying to break in.

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A police officer stands guard on Borough High Street. One witness said she saw three people with what appeared to be their throats cut on London Bridge amid the 'utter chaos'

Horrified bystanders ran down Borough High Street as police shouted at them to run to safety

Police arrived at the scene of the attack within eight minutes and instructed revellers to leave the area. On Twitter, Metropolitan Police urged people caught up in the attack to 'run to a place of safety, hide and tell'

'She managed to hold the door for a few seconds but they overpowered her.

'People managed to escape through the rear door so she saved maybe 20 peoples lives'.

It comes after another taxi driver described how he attempted to stop the attackers' rampage by hitting them with his car.

The man named Chris said he spun his vehicle around in an effort to run into the attackers and put a stop to the bloodshed.

'I thought, 'I'm gonna try and hit him, I'm gonna try and knock him down'', he told LBC Radio.

'I was shouting at everybody, just get away from the area, stay back, just run the other way. There were a good few hundred people out there.'

Seven people were killed in last night's attack at Borough Market and London Bridge and 48 others were rushed to six hospitals around London.

Police arrived at the scene within eight minutes and gunned down the three suspects - who were wearing fake suicide belts.

After careering a van across London Bridge and mowing down pedestrians, the jihadi attackers continued their attack around Borough Market.

The mystery driver continued: 'He's veered across the road towards the right hand of where Southwark Cathedral is and rammed it where the steps are.

'He just rammed it towards them, wedged it in between the lamppost and the steps and so he's hit people there.

'They've jumped out of the van and started stabbing people randomly. There was a scattering of people.'

One witness said she saw three people with what appeared to be their throats cut on London Bridge amid the 'utter chaos'.

Metropolitan Police commissioner Cressida Dick said armed police patrols are to be increased around the capital and that London Bridge station and tube station are closed.

Witnesses reported hearing 'rapid gunfire' as three jihadi attackers launched their attack - killing seven people and injuring at least 48 - leaving bodies 'strewn' on the road in central London.

One of the casualties was a British Transport police officer who has been confirmed to have received 'serious' but not life-threatening injuries.

Dash cam footage captured by another taxi driver as he drove across London Bridge shows members of the public and paramedics tending to the wounded.

Injured pedestrians can be seen lying on the pavement in the immediate aftermath of a van, which witnesses said careered across London Bridge in an 'S shape' at 50mph.

The three attackers - who were all gunned down by armed police - then began 'randomly stabbing' people in nearby Borough Market.

A white van has reportedly ploughed into 20 people in a suspected 'terror attack' on London Bridge station, amid unconfirmed reports of gunfire and stabbing

Terrifying footage from the scene shows police officers shouting 'Clear the scene now!' as panicked pedestrians flee

Police are treating injured people and carrying them away at the end Thrale Street

The horrific scene unfolded along the Thames in central London

Others said they saw three men, described as being 'of Mediterranean origin', jump out of the van and began 'randomly stabbing people' along Borough High Street with 12-inch long knives.

The car, believed to be a B&Q vehicle, was reportedly veering in an 'S shape' at 50mph across the bridge and has driven towards the Shard and is south of the river. The drivers have not been caught.

Terrifying footage from the scene shows police officers shouting 'Clear the scene now!' as panicked pedestrians flee.

The bridge is in lock down and the area around it is closed with bus routes being diverted, as armed police and a bomb squad attend the scene and boats search the water.

Police were treating injured people and carrying them away at the end Thrale Street. Members of the public were told by police to 'run as fast as they could' westbound.

One eyewitness who wished to remain anonymous told MailOnline: 'I was in Arabica restaurant with a friend in borough market. Suddenly there was commotion and people were screaming. Security guards were yelling at people to get back from the window. About 50 people piled into the restaurant.

'Then I heard two separate bursts of gunfire and people rushed into the restaurant kitchens to hide. It was utter chaos.

'Some people tried to leave the kitchens via the back door but some of us tried to keep people calm. We hid for 45minutes and then were evacuated from the market by armed police.'

A man known only as Gareth, who was inside a restaurant during the attack, told CNN: 'I think it's the first time in my life that I got the feeling that it's absolute game over.

'I've lived in London for 12 years and I lived pretty close to where the previous attack was, as well.

'I came down one evening and just happened to pick the restaurant there by chance.

'It was the fear - looking into my friends eyes and looking to a woman who was about to give birth and seeing the fear in their eyes and trying to calm them down and not being able to make a sound.

'We could hear voices outside of the door and people walking up and down and we had to keep deadly silent because we thought we were going to get gunned down through the door, basically because we could hear the shots outside.'

Dashcam footage captured by a taxi driver as he drove across London Bridge shows paramedics helping injured people on the roadside

The harrowing video shows the immediate aftermath of the attack and injured pedestrians being tended to by members of the public and later paramedics

Police have now confirmed that seven people died in last night's attack at the hands of three jihadi extremists who were gunned down by armed police who arrived at the scene within eight minutes

Police are also responding to an incident at Borough Market

Armed police are said to be at the scene while people have been seen fleeing the 'horrific scene' at the landmark in central London

London Bridge station has been evacuated amid reports of the suspected terror attack

Armed police and a bomb squad are at the scene as boats were seen searching the Thames

Pictures of the white van will be circulated across London.

Tony Murphy, who has a flat opposite Southwark Bridge, said he heard 'rapid gunfire'.

He said: 'I'm actually former military. I heard what was significant gunfire.

'At first I thought it was fireworks but it was so rapid I recognised what it was.

'It went on for quite a long time. The response took about 10 minutes. I immediately text my family and they said they heard it. It was tremendous gunfire.'

Holly Jones, a BBC reporter at the bridge when the incident happened, said a van had swerved off the road into a crowd of pedestrians.

'A white van driver came speeding – probably about 50mph – veered of the road into the crowds of people who were walking along the pavement,' she told BBC News.

'He swerved right round me and then hit about five or six people. He hit about two people in front of me and then three behind.'

Ms Jones later reported seeing a man being arrested by police. She said he was handcuffed and had his shirt off.

Witness Alessandro told the BBC that he saw a van at the end of London Bridge with no driver inside and described the 'five or six' people hit as 'very young'.

He said: 'I was going up the stairs of London Bridge Station. I saw this van going left and right trying to hit as many people as he could. I tried to help people.

'At the end of the bridge we saw a van but we didn't see anyone in the van.

'I think [the driver] went to the end of London Bridge. We didn't see the van stop because we were trying to help people.

'Everything was confused. There were five or six people [hit]. Three of them were conscious. One of them was not talking at all. He was just down.

'The five or six people we tried to help were really young.'

The bridge was seen to be on lockdown. London Bridge and the area around it has been closed due to a 'major police incident', TFL said

Witnesses told the BBC that a white van veered off the road on London Bridge and hit five or six people

Another taxi driver named only as Paul said: 'I was just going over London Bridge and on the left hand side it looked like someone had been knocked off a bike.

'A few yards on I saw another person laying down and a woman screaming.

'A few yards on from that there was a couple of bodies on the right hand side.'

Nick Archer, who was in the London Bridge area, told Sky News: 'We came out (of a bar) on to the road and looked and looked to my left and there is a guy, I thought he was just drinking but he was lying on the floor.

'And then a couple of seconds later, about three police vans flew past. 'He looked in a bad way.'

London Bridge and the area around it has been closed due to a 'major police incident', Transport for London said.

Holly, who said she was just two metres away from being hit by a white van, described the chaos on London Bridge after the attack.

She told Radio 5Live: I was probably two metres away. I saw it hit the people in front of me. I feel just so lucky now.

People were seen running away in panic amid reports of stabbing and gunfire

Armed police are attending the 'horrific' scene alongside ambulances

'It was all a blur, but as much as I can remember it was a male on their own [driving the van]. There are five people on the floor being attended too. There are loads of city police officers helping and boats on the Thames searching.'

The BBC's Holly Jones spoke to a French woman who had been injured in the incident.

She told Ms Jones: 'I don't know where those other two people are. So the police are checking the Thames.

'They were right near the edge of the bridge. It looks potentially they could have been thrown over.'

Witnesses told the BBC that a white van veered off the road on London Bridge and hit five or six people.

One witness wrote on Twitter: 'Passerby says 15-20 people have been run over. Another says 7 or 8.'

'Horrific scene at London Bridge. Bodies strewn over the pavement, B&Q van mounted the pavement. I feel sick,' one witness wrote.

'On a boat travelling under London Bridge. Buses stopped. Police lights everywhere and boats checking the water. Please let everyone be okay!' another added.

Police are dealing with a major incident and all routes are being diverted.'

The Metropolitan Police posted on Twitter: 'We are dealing with an incident on London Bridge, when we have more information we will update this twitter feed.'

London Bridge is closed both ways due to a police incident, Tfl said, warning the public to avoid the area.

Scotland Yard said officers were at the scene and they would update with further information.

London Ambulance said multiple resources were attending the area.