A nursery worker was attacked by three girls shouting "Allah will get you" on a busy high street in north-east London. The victim, in her 30s, was on her way to work at 9.30am on Wednesday 7 June when she was slashed with a knife by the trio.

The woman, an employee at Little Diamonds nursery in Wanstead, was treated at the scene by paramedics and taken to hospital as a precautionary measure. A colleague told IBTimes UK that the nursery is open for the day.

Little Diamonds manager Karen Stevens told the East London & West Essex Guardian: "She got to the Hermon Hill traffic lights when she was attacked from behind by three girls who pulled her to the ground.

"They started kicking and punching her and then took out a knife and slashed her arm. Apparently they were shouting parts of the Qur'an saying things like 'Allah will get you.'"

Stevens said the attackers ran away when a man approached the victim and helped her get to work.

She added: "When she got to work we couldn't believe it and called the police straight away. It's terrible, I'm absolutely horrified. You don't expect something like this to happen on your doorstep."

In a statement the Metropolitan Police confirmed they had been called at 9.36am and no arrests had been made but that enquiries continue.

It added: "Officers and London Ambulance Service attended and found a woman, aged in her 30s, with a slash wound. Her injuries are not life-threatening.

"She has been taken to an east London hospital as a precaution."

The stabbing comes just days after three terrorists stormed the London Bridge area on Saturday 3 June, killing eight people and seriously injuring dozens more.

One of the three men who carried out the attacks, Khuram Shazad Butt, worked for Transport for London (TfL) as recently as last year despite being a known extremist, it emerged this week.

A British national known to the police and MI5, he was a follower of the banned al-Muhajiroun network, led by the now-jailed preacher Anjem Choudary.

Butt and the two other attackers, Rachid Redouane, 30, and Youssef Zaghba, 22, were killed by armed officers after an eight-minute rampage.

On Wednesday, police recovered a body from the River Thames believed to be that of French national Xavier Thomas, who has been missing since the terror attack.