The Bishopsgate Bomb: Guard cut by glass

RAYMOND FAYERS, a security guard at the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank, who led his colleagues to shelter in a car park, was in hospital last night after being caught in the blast.

Mr Fayers, 44, from Leytonstone, east London, went back upstairs while other staff took cover and manned the phones in case word came that the alert was over. He caught the force of the explosion. Glass embedded in his head and his finger was broken. 'I can't remember much. Everything went black as it happened,' he said.

'When I came to, I saw a fire outside the building. The front reception was completely destroyed. I found myself on the floor and the ceiling was coming down on top of me.'

'Police told bank security it was too dangerous to take workers out into the streets. We had to take them to the garage in the core of the building,' Mr Fayers added.

Only he, and possibly one other security guard, were left on the exposed upper floors. Mr Fayers was treated at St Bartholomew's. His face was covered in blood, which was still running from his nose. He had glass embedded in his head and cuts to his arm and a broken finger which was bleeding.

(Photograph omitted)