IT WAS an ordinary working day for thousands of commuters travelling during the rush hour last Thursday morning. But nothing could have prepared Andrew Hellens for the terror that was about to unfold on the London underground.

The 60-year-old sound technician from Bricket Wood was in the Tube train which exploded near Aldgate tube station when a bomb was detonated. The father-of-two, who was still off work on Tuesday, recounts his experience.

He said: "We started hearing some really bad, bloodcurdling screaming from somewhere further down the train.

"A message was passed along asking if anyone medically qualified was on board. There wasn't.

"Railway staff ushered us out of the back of the train they were just saying the power was off. We thought it was a train accident and we were all shook up.

"We had to walk along the track. I saw two bodies outside the train, next to large chunks of metal. We walked past the carriage where the explosion was.

"The roof was damaged and metal panels had come off it looked as if the side had been blown off. I think injured people may have still been on board.

"Everyone was covered in soot and people were streaming out behind us covered in blood. At that stage we had no idea that it was a bomb.

"We were just so pleased to be alive.

"I knew full well that it was something major and that it would be on the news within seconds. Before the police even released us from the station, I was on the phone to my wife."

Mr Hellens, who emerged from the underground unscathed, had to walk to Moorgate where he waited for two hours for a train into Farringdon.

Despite the station being packed, he managed to get home by 4.30pm thanks to Thameslink staff.

n Hertfordshire Constabulary is appealing for the public to be extra vigilant and report any suspicious incidents immediately. If anyone sees anything suspicious, they should dial 999 immediately.

If anyone has information about suspicious people or activities which could be linked to terrorism they should ring the Anti-Terrorist Hotline on 0800 789 321.