Northlanders in London close to Westminster Bridge terrorist attack

Injured people being tended to by emergency services after the terror attack in London. PHOTO/AP

Northlanders in London have reacted to the terrorist attack that left five people dead and dozens more injured after a man drove into crowds of people and stabbed a policeman to death.

One Northlander was among workers in full lockdown for a couple of hours after the terrorist attack outside the British Parliament that killed five people and injured 40 others.

Whitney Channings moved to London two months ago and found work at Shrek's Adventure, a family attraction on Westminster Bridge Rd opposite Parliament, and said she loved the place.

A knife-wielding man went on a deadly rampage in the heart of Britain's seat of power, ploughing a car into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge before fatally stabbing a police officer inside the gates of Parliament. The attacker was shot dead by police.

Lawmakers, lords, staff and visitors were locked down after the man was shot by police within the perimeter of Parliament.

"We were in full lockdown for a couple of hours. Very sad and disconcerting. No place like home," Ms Channings said.

Also in London at the time of the terrorist attack was a Whangarei woman and her friend who had decided to visit he capital city while the rest of her family went elsewhere.

The woman's father, David Milton of Kamo, described the incident as "pretty scary".

The Milton family is on a six-week holiday in the United Kingdom and Mr Milton said they all planned to go to London for the day but half of them went elsewhere.

However, Mr Milton said his daughter and her friend, who had lived in Whangarei but now lived in Holland, went to London and were sightseeing outside Parliament when the terrorism event happened.

"Pretty scary stuff," he said.

Former Northern Advocate reporter Alexandra Newlove arrived on her OE two weeks ago and was working in an office building on Euston Rd, about 3km away, when the attack happened.

"We play the BBC in reception and a lot of people were gathering around watching the news, some calling family, others saying they just wanted to leave work to be with their kids."

Ms Newlove said on her way home, she could hear "heaps of sirens" and saw about a dozen machine gun-laden police officers at the train station at St Pancras.

She said no one seemed exactly surprised, which was pretty sad.

"It's well publicised here that the authorities are constantly on high alert for this sort of attack. Like any random misfortune, you just hope you aren't in the wrong place at the wrong time."

The city, she said, did not seem scary or sinister because of the deadly attack.

"If anything, it was the warmest I've seen London so far: strangers reassuring each other on the train, people on the phone to their families saying they loved them, and lots of civil servants going into high gear trying to keep people safe."

* More on the terror attack page 16.