London attack: Vigil held to remember victims By Jennifer Meierhans

BBC News Online Published duration 5 June 2017 Related Topics London Bridge attack

image caption The vigil took place less than a mile away from where the terror attack unfolded

Thousands of people gathered under leaden skies to remember those who were killed and injured in Saturday night's terror attack in London.

The crowd of all ages and backgrounds filled Potters Field Park, less than a mile from where three men drove into pedestrians on London Bridge before launching a knife attack in Borough Market.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan led the short ceremony with a defiant speech that was welcomed by applause.

The crowd filled the park and spilled out on to the area around City Hall, a snaking line of people waiting to leave flowers. The area is now a sea of floral tributes.

media caption Sadiq Khan: 'This is our city, these are our values and this is our way of life'.

Hanyah Casam, 14, from Eden Girls School in Walthamstow, said: "I don't think there's an emotion to describe how we feel today. There's so much sorrow and heartbreak and we just wanted to be here to show our support."

Classmate Zahra Salamut, 15, said: "What happened is not a representation of Islam and we are here with love to represent British Muslims."

Doreen Hutchings, 67, from Camberwell, said: "I'm very angry that people think they can come and do this to my city so I wanted to be with other Londoners.

"It's nice there's a real mixture of people young and old from different backgrounds."

image caption (L to R) Badeiyah Islam, 14, Hanyah Casam, 14 and Zahra Salamut, 15 from Eden Girls School in Walthamstow

image caption Emergency service workers were also present to pay their respects

image caption Monika Ober-Sahnoun said she wanted to show the spirit of coming together

Gareth Snelling, 24, from Peckham, works for Help For Refugee Children. He drew a rainbow heart on a banner where people could leave messages.

He said: "It's really eerie being so quiet but it's nice to see so many people."

Monika Ober-Sahnoun, 31, is from Poland and lives in Greenwich. She said: "I wanted to show the spirit of coming together as a community and showing love and saying 'no' to fear and hate."

image caption Gareth Snelling drew a rainbow heart on a banner for messages

image caption A sea of floral tributes were left at the vigil