Bellanaleck man, Julian Thornton has described how Houses of Parliament were practically deserted during his tour of Westminster just hours after a terrorist attack in London on Tuesday.

As part of a trip to London this week Mr. Thornton had pre-booked a tour of Westminster.

But when a car crashed outside the Houses of Parliament early on Tuesday morning, he assumed it would be cancelled.

"The whole area was cordoned off however we phoned up and they told us to go ahead," he told The Impartial Reporter.

CCTV footage has captured how the vehicle swerved into cyclists and pedestrians shortly after 7.30am, injuring three people.

A woman was treated in hospital for serious but non life-threatening injuries and a man in his late 20s was arrested.

Just a few hours later, an undeterred Mr. Thornton was allowed through the barriers by police to meet up with a Parliament staff member who brought him to Portcollis House, where they then entered Parliament through an underground tunnel.

"That wouldn't be normal, but you couldn’t enter any other way. We were escorted," said Mr. Thorton.

"It was just us on the tour. We had the Houses to ourselves! One of the security guys said to us he’d only seen four people all day. Usually there are thousands but it was just because of what happened."

In a contrast to the calm and tranquility inside Parliament, Mr. Thornton said outside was a hive of activity, swarming with security, police and press.

"The media were even standing on ladders to get a shot of the car," he said.

"We were just told there had been a terrorist incident and a major security operation in place. We weren’t too concerned because the lady on the phone told us to come via Embankment Tube Station, not Westminster, and to show our tickets at the barrier and everything was under control. But obviously it makes you a little nervous, but we were relieved there were no fatalities."

Having visited London on several occasions previously, Mr. Thornton said he had "never seen anything life this before".

"There were plenty of people talking about it and possibly a little on edge, however they are cool and calm and the security services are excellent," he added.