Defiant Britons refused to let terror ruin their weekend and continued with normal life just 24 hours after a bucket bomb loaded with nails was discovered on a London tube.
Despite a ‘critical’ terror threat level being declared, the capital – and the country – is returning to normality in the wake of the cowardly attack at Parsons Green tube station 24 hours after the nail bomb was detonated on a packed train.
People complied with heightened security measures at public events and queued patiently for bag checks at Doncaster races today.
Racegoers complied with heightened security measures and had their bags searched at the entrance to Doncaster Racecourse, before day four of the William Hill St. Leger Festival
Wonder women: Despite today’s terror threat which remained at ‘critical’ people queued to have their bags searched by security at Doncaster races today
Security was tight at public events across Britain today, with in-depth bag checks routine
And in Manchester, security was also tight while the mood was defiant as the Arena re-opened for its first concert since the bomb attack on May 22, which left 22 people dead and more than 100 injured.
In Liverpool, soccer fans flocked to the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and Burnley, while security guards kept a vigilant eye on proceedings.
Sporting Saturday: Increased security measures were in place for sports fans, who had bags searched before the start of the premier league match at the Wembley Stadium, London
Armed police stand guard outside the stadium before the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and Burnley at Anfield in Liverpool
Armed police at Victoria Station in Manchester as concert-goers arrive at the arena for its first scheduled concert – John Legend – since re-opening following the attacks at Arianna Grande
Passengers were even pictured travelling through Parsons Green station after it re-opened this morning at 1.30am.
Stephan Pillinger, the owner of District cafe, said he had no concerns about opening on Saturday.
‘You just carry on, life goes on fortunately, you’ve just got to carry on too,’ he said.
Passengers embark and disembark Parsons Green tube station this morning just 24 hours after a nail bomb failed to fully detonate
A return to normality: A woman checks her phone this morning on a tube train at Parsons Green undergrounds station
A man drags two heavy-looking suitcases along the pavement outside of Parsons Green tube station this morning
It comes as police confirm they arrested an 18-year-old man at Dover port in connection with the attack.
He was being held at a local police station and will be transported back to a station in south London today.
The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said in a statement: ‘Our city utterly condemns the hideous individuals who attempt to use terror to harm us and destroy our way of life.
‘As London has proven again and again, we will never be intimidated or defeated by terrorism.
‘I am in close contact with the Metropolitan Police, Transport for London, Government and other emergency services who are responding at the scene and leading the investigation.’
Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick today said: ‘London has not stopped after other terrible attacks and it will not stop after this one’
The crime commissioner chats with armed police officers who have been deployed around the city in the wake of the failed bombing at Parsons Green tube station yesterday
Cressida Dick, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner chats to a group of armed officers as she walks along the Southbank in London
The crime commissioner joined police patrols today after Operation Temperer was activated, meaning that up to 5,000 armed troops can be deployed at sensitive sites
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick talks to a member of the public on the South Bank in central London, as Operation Temperer is enacted
Messages of defiance and also hope have captured the city’s unbreakable spirit are being shared across social media.
One information board at an underground station read: ‘We are London. London be together, hold hands and stand up tall; an attack on any one of us is an attack on us all; keep faith in each other.
‘We are London, and shall not fall.’
Reddit user Prannet commented: ‘I grew up in London when IRA bomb threats and suspect packages were a daily occurrence.
‘It just goes in one ear and out the other these days. Part of being an actual Londoner is being forever vigilant. It’s pointless for me.
‘Regardless of the level, just do your thing is the best advice.’
Messages of defiance and also hope have captured the city’s unbreakable spirit are being shared across social media
The scene unfolding elsewhere throughout the capital was one of normality, as Londoners go about their business as usual this weekend
Police Community Support Officer Craig Blacha shared a cropped version of a fake tube sign that was shared across social media in the wake of the Westminster attack in
Highlighting an increased visible police presence after the Parsons Green bombing, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick today said: ‘London has not stopped after other terrible attacks and it will not stop after this one.’
Emma Spear, a barista at the District cafe just below the railway bridge, witnessed the stampede out of the station.
She said:’It was a big panic then people running away.’
A police presence remains around the scene of the attack: People were pictured this morning leaving going to and from the station, which re-opened early this morning
‘We stayed open until about 8.20 but it was probably closer to 9am when they made us leave (evacuate).
‘We saw a lot of the first people that came through.
‘A few people came in [to the cafe] more so they could figure out what was going on I think.’
Ms Spear said the cafe had offered tea and water to police and emergency services after the area had been cleared.
Just 24 hours after the failed ‘bucket bomb’ attack that injured 29 – including a young boy – and passengers are pictured waiting for a train this morning
An information board dedicated to the injured victims of the failed attack. The device only partly detonated but 29 people were injured by a ‘fireball’
‘We never saw any of the seriously injured. The first responders took care of them immediately.
‘Within five minutes the whole area was full of people who had been on the train and on the platform.
‘The rapid response units were here really quickly. They cleared the area then they were here to carry out the investigation.’
When asked if the experience had been frightening, she said: ‘It was more a moment of a panic than anything else. We just didn’t know what was going on and everyone was saying different things.’
Stephan Pillinger, the owner of District cafe, said: ‘You just carry on, life goes on fortunately, you’ve just got to carry on too’
It is believed the bomb was left on the busy district line train from Wimbledon this morning before the bomber escaped