‘London bridge will never fall down,’ defiant sign declares

LONDON — John Stokes’s favourite bridge in the whole of the British capital is London Bridge because of the spectacular views it offers.

Stokes, 69, works as a tour guide on an open-top double-decker bus. On Saturday night he was giving his spiel to about 50 tourists on London Bridge.

“I always tell everyone to get out their cameras, get ready to take picture of the Tower Bridge all lit up. It’s the most beautiful part of our tour,” he said Sunday.

“But the bus was moving very slowly. We then noticed someone lying on the pavement … and then a little further up we saw someone else … We were really alarmed.”

As video footage and eyewitness reports emerged from the terror attack on Saturday night, it was clear that the incident was meant for all the world to see.

Shortly after 10 p.m., a white van mowed down pedestrians as it zigzagged across London Bridge, which offers what may be the best vantage point for viewing Tower Bridge, a symbol of London itself.

“I saw blinding white headlights weaving through cars and coming at us. It hit directly to the right of me,” said Dan Nguyen, an American tourist, who was on London Bridge.

“I looked ahead and saw there was a distance to go before the end of the bridge, so I braced myself to jump off the bridge into the river. Then I saw my girlfriend limping and sobbing so I ran back towards the scene to drag her away,” he told the BBC.

Sitting south of the River Thames, the bustling London Bridge area is popular with tourists and locals who adore its nooks and crannies, its restaurants and pubs, its elegant riverside walk.

Less than 24 hours after the attack, there was also a palpable sense of defiance in the London Bridge area and beyond.

“This is our city,” London Mayor Sadiq Khan said. “We will never be cowed by terrorism.”

At Walthamstow Central in northeast London, passengers were greeted by a defiant message on the subway station’s information board.

“London Bridge will never fall down,” it read.