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A witness has described how he was forced to watch helplessly as a woman was stabbed under a railway bridge 15 times as she cried “help me, help me” during the London Bridge attack.

Gerard Vowls, 47, had been watching the Champions League Final in a nearby pub when the atrocity began at London Bridge last night.

He witnessed the three “Middle Eastern-looking” attackers brutally stabbing passers-by and drinkers in Borough Market.

Ignoring his own safety, Gerard, from nearby Bermondsey, threw glasses and bottles at the men as they carried out the attack.

The Crossrail worker told the Mirror: “I’d been to watch the Champions League Final with mate in the The Ship, which is on Borough Road.

“At 10pm I decided to go and get some food, so headed up to London Bridge to get something from Tesco.

“I’d got to the Natwest bank when I saw a man leaning against a glass window. He’d been stabbed.

“Then a guy dressed in white legged it past me shouting, ‘They’re stabbing people, they’re stabbing people.’

“It was a split second later when I saw the three guys. They were big fellas, dressed in normal Western clothes.

“I could see something strapped to them, like lots of mobile phones wrapped around their bodies with duct tape.

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(Image: PA)

“They were stood over a woman on the ground. There was a bike next to her, so I don’t know if they pushed her off or not.

“They were stabbing her and stabbing her, repeatedly. She was saying, ‘Help me, help me’ but I couldn’t do anything.

“The men shouted, ‘This is for Allah’. I’m 100% that’s what they said. It was hard to tell what accent they had.

“Then the men ran towards the market, where all the boozers are. I ran after them, shouting at people to warn them.

“I was screaming, ‘They’re terrorists, run’ but it was busy and most people couldn’t hear me.

“I grabbed a pint glass and lobbed it one of them. He turned and came at me so I ran. I tried to pick up one of those Boris bikes and then threw a chair. I grabbed some beer bottles and lobbed them.

“The three terrorists all stuck closely together, it was like they were trained. Each of them had a big knife.

“It was dark so I’m not 100% but they looked Middle Eastern. They were just stabbing anyone they came across.

“I saw a guy come out of The Globe pub, just minding his own business, and one of them stabbed him in the side.

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(Image: REUTERS)

“I got to the Market Porter pub and saw them run into a restaurant opposite, where a food truck is parked outside normally.

“They stabbed a couple that were in the entrance.

“They were thrusting the knives in an underarm way, then stabbed the man overarm once he was down.

“I think they went into the Wheatsheaf or the Southwark Tavern too. It was absolute chaos.

“I was screaming for help. Most people just ran but in the pubs people were chucking glasses at them.

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(Image: REUTERS)

“Eventually they ran off towards the bridge again. I saw two police officers, a man and a woman, and told them where they’d gone.

“We all ran together towards the bridge and then heard the gunfire. I saw all three lying on the ground.

“The WPC began screaming at me, saying ‘Get away, they’ve got bombs’. I went back to the Market Porter.

“There was a guy leaning against the bar at the back, near the steps down to the toilets.

“He’d been stabbed. I spoke to a black guy who said his friend, I think a doorman, had been stabbed.

(Image: Gabriele Sciotto)

“Then he got a text or a phone call, I can’t remember which, to say he had died. The man was crying.

“I eventually just went wandering around, trying to calm down. I was shaking and crying.

“I’ve spoken to the police and they’re coming to see me I think. I’m just in shock.I can’t stop thinking about that poor woman who was being stabbed. They were over her like a pack of animals.

“I’m praying she survived. I just wish I could have done more to save her.”

(Image: Getty Images Europe)

At least seven are dead and nearly 50 injured in the horrific events just after 10pm on last night in the capital.

A van ploughed through pedestrians on the pavement at speeds of around 50mph before at least three men got out and began knifing people at random.

It is believed the terrorists deliberately targeted people in bars and restaurants in the popular Borough Market area.

Staff and customers hid in a cellar at one restaurant while there were reports of drinkers hurling chairs and pint glasses at the attackers.

A picture posted online showed one of the suspects lying on the floor outside The Wheatsheaf pub with canisters strapped to a belt.

(Image: REUTERS)

The Prime Minister Theresa May has confirmed the incidents are being treated as acts of terrorism.

There has been no official claim of responsibility but attention will inevitable focus on Islamic extremists.

It is less than two weeks since suicide bomber Salman Abedi killed 22 people and injured more than 100 at the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester.

ISIS claimed responsibility for that attack.

(Image: REUTERS)

At least 48 casualties have been taken to six hospitals following Saturday's incident.

In a statement, the London Ambulance Service said: "Our thoughts are with those affected by the incident at London Bridge and their friends and family.

"We took 48 patients to five hospitals across London and treated a number of others at the scene for minor injuries. Police have confirmed that sadly, six people, also died at the scene.

"We sent over 80 of our medics to the scene including ambulance crews, advanced paramedics, specialist response teams and an advanced trauma team from London's Air Ambulance.

"We declared a major incident and worked closely with other members of the emergency services at the scene. Our priority was to assess patients and ensure that they were treated and taken to hospital as soon as possible."