London attack: Romanian baker and Spanish banker among heroes

A number of people put their safety at risk and helped others during Saturday's attack on London Bridge and Borough Market, which left eight people dead and 48 injured.

Among them was a baker who wielded a bread crate at the attackers, as well as a man who used his skateboard to protect people, with supermarket workers offering free food and drink to emergency workers.

Sunday Express business editor Geoff Ho dragged his wounded friend to safety while at the Black & Blue restaurant in Southwark - despite himself being stabbed in the neck.

Earlier that night, he had helped a bouncer at the Southwark Tavern being attacked by two unarmed men, but said in a statement on Tuesday that the incident happened before he confronted the terrorists.

"At that point I thought 'job done, now for beer and food'," he said.

"Within two minutes of my leaving the Southwark Tavern and posting 'not on my watch' on Facebook, the terrorist attackers arrived at the restaurant.

"Most of my friends and the staff hid under tables but one of my friends was frozen behind me."

The journalist said he "tried to slow" the attackers, who appeared to be wearing suicide vests.

"I think I got a hit in on one of them, but either he or his accomplice got me with a shot to the throat.

"They got my friend who was behind me with a minor stab wound in the face and hands and ran off.

"I picked up my friend and bundled him into the store room. I called the police and within moments they arrived. I gave the police descriptions of the three and we were evacuated."

Footage of him being escorted to an ambulance by police has been posted on the Daily Express website.

In it he is clutching his neck and using his shirt as a bandage.

Mr Ho said he would make a full recovery and thanked staff at the Royal London Hospital.

A Spanish man who used his skateboard to try to defend a woman who was being stabbed by one of the attackers has now been named as being one of the eight people killed.

Ignacio Echeverría, 39, saw the attack unfolding at London Bridge and rushed to help the woman.

According to his father, friends saw the HSBC employee from Madrid, "lying on the floor on the sidewalk after defending someone with his skateboard".

Spain's prime minister tweeted that he had requested that Mr Echeverria be granted Spain's Silver Cross of the Order of Civil Merit.

Off-duty police officer Charlie Guenigault - an amateur rugby player - was stabbed after tackling one of the three men.

He was injured after rushing to the aid of a British Transport Police officer who had faced the attackers with only a baton.

The family of the 25-year-old, who serves as an emergency response officer for the Southwark borough, said he "showed immense bravery".

In a statement, they added: "Given the opportunity again, Charlie would no doubt do exactly the same if faced with the same situation; helping a fellow police officer in need and protecting the public.

"He is immensely proud to work for the Metropolitan Police Service and serving the Southwark community, and this is an example of that.

"Charlie is described by his peers as a dedicated police officer, who is a diligent, hardworking and respected member of his team".

Met Police commissioner Cressida Dick praised the "utterly heroic" actions of the officer, who is in a stable condition in hospital.

She said: "It's hard to pick out individual stories but I am immensely proud of him and what he did."

The BTP officer, who has not been named, was seriously injured but is now in a stable condition.

Chief Constable Paul Crowther from the BTP said the bravery he showed was "outstanding".

The officer, who was stabbed in the attack, has said he has been "truly moved and overwhelmed by all the support".

He added: "I'm so sorry I couldn't do more and I want you to know I did everything I could."

Romanian baker Florin Morariu saw a commotion outside Borough Market's Bread Ahead bakery, where he works, and invited some distressed Brazilian women inside and gave them a glass of water.

When they told him that three men were stabbing people in the market, he headed outside with two crates to tackle the attackers.

Speaking to the Victoria Derbyshire show, he said: "I felt pity for the victims, I didn't know how to handle things or react, I thought to myself I'm also in danger.

"I just threw the crate at [one of the attackers].

"I threw the first crate and I knew he was going to dodge it. While he was dodging it, I walked towards him and hit him in the head with the other crate."

He said a policeman then shouted at him to stand back, before discharging a stun grenade.

Roy Larner was stabbed five times while attempting to shield people from the attackers.

Friends have raised more than £10,000 for Mr Larner, who say he is now in intensive care, to go towards his recovery.

Jayne Jacob, who set up a JustGiving page on Sunday, said: "Roy got caught up in the terror attack at London Bridge and was badly injured whilst protecting lives.

"A Millwall supporter and in my mind a proper hero and deserves our support and aid to help him on his recovery."

According to friend Mick Church, Roy was left with stab wounds on his face, neck and suffered a collapsed lung.

Giovanni Sagristani, 38, and his friends were in the El Pastor restaurant on Stoney Street when one of the attackers came in and stabbed a woman in the chest.

"He came in shouting and just stabbed her," he said.

Mr Sagristani's partner Carlos Pinto, 33, who works as a critical care nurse in London, looked after the woman, with the help of his friend, another nurse.

"They took some ice and cloths and tried to stop the bleeding. She lost half a litre of blood in the beginning. He was keeping pressure on the wound," Mr Sagristani said.

He said fellow diners had managed to push the attacker out of the restaurant by throwing chairs and bottles at him. Once the attacker was outside, staff lowered a security gate and locked people inside.

"After the initial moment of panic, everyone tried to help this girl and stay calm. We were all at the back of the restaurant. There were shots going off outside and we didn't know what was going on."

Mr Sagristani said it was more than two hours before the paramedics were able to reach them.

"They kept her conscious. It was very lucky they were there," he added.

Eyewitness Gerard Vowls told the BBC how he tried to stop the attackers stabbing a woman. He threw bottles, pint glasses and chairs at the men.

"I tried to help, but at the end of the day I was defenceless," he said.

Consultant at the Royal London Hospital Dr Malik Ramadhan was cycling home after his shift at Accident and Emergency when he sensed something was wrong.

He was cycling south on Tower Bridge, when he noticed emergency vehicles speeding towards the London Bridge area.

"It was clear that something was happening both from the way they were driving and the number of vehicles."

He said: "Given what's been happening, I turned back to work."

When he arrived at the Royal London a major incident had been declared, and on-call staff were ready to treat all of the patients within 30 minutes.

"The 12 were all very badly injured. The people who had been stabbed, had been stabbed with an intent to kill."

Patients were "startled to the point that they couldn't speak".

Dr Ramadhan added that many doctors and nurses are not drinking on the weekends in case a major attack occurs.