Wales On Sunday

LONDON BRIDGE TUSK HERO SPEAKS FOR FIRST TIME

- FLORA THOMPSON PA reporter newsdesk@walesonlin­e.co.uk

ACIVIL servant has described how he fought off a terrorist on London Bridge with a narwhal tusk after the attacker ran at members of the public with knives “raised above his head”.

Darryn Frost has spoken for the first time about how he grabbed the artefact from the wall in Fishmonger­s’ Hall as Usman Khan went on a killing spree on November 29 during a prisoner rehabilita­tion programme.

Khan, armed with two knives and wearing a fake suicide vest, killed Saskia Jones and Jack Merritt in the attack.

Harrowing footage showed Mr Frost and other members of the public heroically fending off Khan as they moved on to London Bridge – but until now his identity has remained a mystery.

The 38-year-old, from London, could be seen pinning Khan to the ground and is then pulled away by a police officer before the terrorist is shot dead seconds later.

The South African, who has lived in the UK for 14 years and works in the Ministry of Justice communicat­ions department, came forward to give his account of the “terrible day” in a bid to urge people to unite against terrorism and raise money for the victims’ families.

Speaking to the PA news agency, Mr Frost said he was attending the event with colleagues but ran to help when he heard a commotion downstairs.

He said: “When we heard the noise from the floor below, a few of us rushed to the scene.

“I took a narwhal tusk from the wall and used it to defend myself and others from the attacker.

“Another man was holding the attacker chair.

“I ran down the stairs, stood next to the man with the chair, and the two of us confronted the attacker.

“He had knives in both hands and, upon seeing me with the narwhal tusk, pointed at his midriff.

“He turned and spoke to me, then indicated he had an explosive device around his waist.

“At this point, the man next to me threw his chair at the attacker, who then started running towards him with knives raised above his head.”

Mr Frost passed the tusk to his unarmed comrade before racing back upstairs to find another to use.

When he returned, he found the first tusk “shattered across the floor” and saw people fleeing the building.

He said: “Along with others, I pursued the attacker, tusk in hand, on to the bridge.

“We called out to warn the public of the danger and, after a struggle, managed to restrain him to the ground.

“At that point I was trying to isolate the blades by holding his wrists so that he could not hurt anyone or set off the device.”

Mr Frost offered his “sincere condolence­s” to the victims’ families and friends, adding: “In reading about their lives and work I am convinced they represent all that is good in the world, and I will always feel the deep hurt of not being able to save them.”

He praised those injured for being “so brave” and wished them a “speedy recovery”, saying some refused treatment until others who at bay with a wooden were more seriously hurt were tended to first, adding: “That considerat­ion and kindness filled me with hope on that dark day.”

Mr Frost said he was “eternally grateful” to the prisoners and public who ran to help, adding: “Not only do I want to thank those who confronted the attacker, but also those who put themselves in danger to tend to the injured, relying on us to protect them while they cared for others.

“To the emergency services: you did yourselves and the country proud. I thank you too.

“To the public: I hope that the part I played in these terrible events can be used for good.”

He urged people to get behind a project he has launched, called Extinguish Hate, to “challenge hate and spread kindness” and asked people to donate to the victims’ fundraisin­g pages - saskia-jones.muchloved. com and the “Celebratio­n of the life of Jack Merritt” on GoFundMe.com

Mr Frost said he had omitted “many details” of his account of the incident “out of respect for the victims and their families” and in considerat­ion for the ongoing investigat­ion and inquests into the attack.

He said he now wants “time and space” to continue his recovery since the “traumatic events of that day” but urged the press to use its “amazing ability to connect with people” as a force for good to “unify this country”.

“I feel we all have a duty to challenge the spread of fear, hatred or intoleranc­e within our communitie­s,” he added.

Khan was a convicted terrorist released halfway through a 16-year prison sentence for a plot to bomb the London Stock Exchange.

He had been part of a group who had plotted the attacks in parks in Cardiff and Newport.

In February 2012, Khan, who had been based in Stoke-on-Trent, was handed an indetermin­ate sentence for public protection over his part in an al Qaida-inspired terror group that plotted to bomb the London Stock Exchange and build a terrorist training camp on land in Pakistanco­ntrolled Kashmir owned by his family.

A list of other potential targets included the names and addresses of the Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral in London, then London mayor Boris Johnson, two rabbis, and the American Embassy in London.

But the sentence for Khan, along with two co-conspirato­rs, was quashed at the Court of Appeal in April 2013 and he was given a determinat­e 16-year jail term.

Prisoners are usually released halfway through a determinat­e sentence, but Khan had served less than seven years when he was freed on licence in December last year.

 ??  ?? Police and bystanders surround terrorist Usman Khan on London Bridge on November 29. Inset, Darryn Frost who helped to fight off Khan with a narwhal tusk
Police and bystanders surround terrorist Usman Khan on London Bridge on November 29. Inset, Darryn Frost who helped to fight off Khan with a narwhal tusk
 ??  ?? Usman Khan
Usman Khan

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom