The pained faces of families fleeing the heart of London will forever be etched in my memory

THE pained faces of families fleeing the heart of London will forever be etched in my memory, writes Jack Houghton who was at Westminster Bridge.

A Union flag flies at half mast from the Houses of Parliament after an attacker, ‘inspired by international terrorism’, killed three people. Picture: Daniel Leal-Olivas

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THE pained faces of families fleeing the heart of London will forever be etched in my memory.

Mothers clutched their children while panicked tourists with tears in their eyes backed away from the shadow of Westminster Palace and an ever expanding police cordon.

It was clear many of the children were too young to understand what was happening, as I would have been when I first visited Big Ben and Buckingham Palace at the age of seven.

Those memories of these grand tourist destinations have now been replaced by that look of fear and sadness on the faces of people there watching a tragedy unfold.

“We don’t want more people in there mate, we are trying to clear people out of the road,” said one police officer at Lambeth Bridge as he erected a barrier.

The officer was visibly shaking and on edge.

It was understandable as one of his colleagues had been stabbed to death just 45 minutes earlier.

Police officer Keith Palmer died after being stabbed by the attacker ‘inspired by international terrorism’ outside London’s Houses of Parliament. Paramedics fought to save his life on the floor of the cobbled courtyard. Picture: Metropolitan Police

The city was in lockdown in a way I had never seen before.

While traffic queued on the south-side of the River Thames beyond the bridge was a ghost town.

Groups of people were trying to pass back through blockades but access was being denied and there was confusion for those who had just arrived.

“What is going on are we in danger here?” asked one Canadian woman with a camera around her neck.

She gasped when police told her of the attack.

A police security cordon remains around the Houses of Parliament in London. Picture: Justin Tallis

The Tube, normally the most reliable transport across the bustling metropolis, was shut down and people were worried it would be hours before they could get home.

On a side street overlooking the Palace of Westminster many people had gathered at nearby pubs to talk through what they had seen.

Others called loved ones, who knew they worked in the area, to let them know they were safe.

“We all walk across that bridge every day,” said Kate Brents, 25, who works in event management, a short walk from where the attack happened.

“I’m shaken up just hearing about it so I can’t imagine what some people are going through right now. We are just going to have a beer and wait until everything clears so we can get home.”

Barricades were in place until late into the evening but the large crowd eventually thinned as taxi cabs were let into the area.

By 9pm only journalists and armed police were left on the street. Police said they would be stationed there for a while to give residents peace of mind.

For many living in London, including myself, the attack was too close to home.

It is unlikely the feeling of safety will return anytime soon.

A policeman points a gun at the attacker on the floor as emergency services attend the scene outside the Houses of Parliament, London. Picture: Stefan Rousseau