‘Pandemonium’ – police officer describes arriving at London Bridge attack

One of the first police officers on the scene of the London Bridge attack has described the "pandemonium" as people ran for their lives while others lay bleeding on the ground.

Inspector Jim Cole said he and his team were about to clock off at Peckham police station when the call came in.

He said he immediately clicked that it could be a terror attack.

"We ran down to the yard and started getting the team back in the vans," he said.

"It was like something out of a movie with police officers running everywhere. Everybody was jumping into cars, getting cars going."

The 41-year-old and his officers rushed to Borough High Street and made their way on foot to the market where the attackers were looking for people to kill.

:: London attackers’ fake suicide belts pictured

"We had some updates on the radio about at least three men attacking people with knives, but it wasn’t really a clear situation and we were not really sure what to expect," he said.

Inspector Cole said he saw walking wounded and people lying on the floor with cuts and stab injuries.

"I asked my officers to form a cordon to stop the public from going into the market, and that’s when the shooting started just behind us.

"We had no idea what was going on, we didn’t know if it was us shooting or if the bad guys had guns."

Inspector Cole said people were running out of the market screaming: "I would described it as pandemonium really," said the officer.

He also received warning over the radio that the attackers were wearing suicide vests.

The married father-of-three set up a triage area in the Katzenjammers pub and shepherded members of the public into the basement.

"I spoke with the 200 frightened people and told them that there were armed officers outside, we were safe and we would evacuate them as soon as we could and I got a big round of applause.

"On my radio I could hear officers on London Bridge desperately calling for ambulances, they were doing CPR on people.

"I decided I had to get my medic up there to help, but I didn’t know what the threat was to their safety.

"I managed to grab a couple of armed officers and they escorted my medic, and another police medic, up to London Bridge."

Inspector Cole said it was the worst thing he has seen.

"I’ve dealt with things over the years – people stabbed or murdered and death – but it was the sheer scale of it all," he said.

A week after the attack, many people on Saturday paused by the sea of flowers as pubs metres away were busy again.

People at The George said it was important to carry on as normal.

A man who from Cardiff said: "I just wanted to show solidarity. I’m a teacher, I’d discussed this with my year 6 pupils and I just wanted to show that all people across Great Britain are behind London and supporting peace, togetherness and solidarity."

Another said: "They (the attackers) can’t harm what London is. They can’t do anything to change the fact that London is a great city.

"I’m not going to let someone with a crazy ideology change what I do on a Friday or Saturday night."

Many bars which took people in on the night of the attack re-opened on Sunday.

Borough Market remains closed, but it is expected stalls will re-open in the coming days.

The Dean of Southwark Cathedral, which is right at the centre of the attack scene, has told Sky News how he ran towards the mayhem hoping to open the cathedral to offer refuge – but he was turned back by police.

"I got as far as I could," he said, adding: "Heavily armed police shoved me back and told me to ‘run! run!’."

He went on: "I was scared, terrified really. I have never experienced anything like that, I didn’t think I would."

Meanwhile, it has emerged that Government guidance issued days after the attack warns hospitals and doctors surgeries that they too could be targeted by terrorists.

The Crowded Places Guidance tells health providers: "It is possible that your hospital or surgery for example could be the target of a terrorist incident…

"In the worst case scenario your staff, patients and visitors could be killed or injured, and your premises destroyed or damaged in a ‘no warning’, multiple and coordinated terrorist attack."

(c) Sky News 2017: ‘Pandemonium’ – police officer describes arriving at London Bridge attack