A mum-of-two from Sanderstead has spoken of the moment she was convinced she would die as she waited for the roof of a bombed Tube train to collapse on top of her, writes Kerry McQueeney.

Mary Burke, 50, was on board the first carriage in last Thursday's King's Cross bombing and was only metres away from the explosion but, miraculously, escaped with only a few cuts to her nose and leg.

"I just can't believe I got off that train," said Mary from her home in Kingswood Avenue last Friday. "Yesterday I was numb with shock, I didn't have any emotions. But now it's hit me and I can't believe I am alive.

"I was convinced I would die on that train. But as I was shown a way out I just didn't look back. I didn't want to see. God only knows what we left behind."

The London bombings also brought severe disruption to Croydon last Thursday when two suspect packages prompted police to cordon off areas in the town centre and at East Croydon station. More confusion ensued when bomb experts were called to Factory Lane to dispose of a World War Two mortar shell, found at a rubbish tip.

It has also been revealed that around seven Croydon police officers, who had already been deployed to central London, were among the first on the scene at the horror unfolding in the King's Cross-Russell Square tunnel during the morning rush hour.

Meanwhile Mary, who works in the payroll and accounts department at a hotel in Russell Square, described her terrifying experience to the Croydon Guardian.

"I was running late for work and I squeezed myself on to the train at King's Cross and it was really packed. I was by the first set of doors nearest the driver," said Mary.

"I don't think we were that far in to the tunnel when it happened. I felt the force of the bomb hit my head which pushed everyone to the floor. No one was on top of me, but I think I was on top of a few people.

"The train didn't stop moving, it was screeching. I thought the train was never going to stop and that the carriage would cave in on us. I was convinced my time was up.

"Then it stopped. There was silence, then the screaming started. It was pandemonium. People were crying help me, help me'. I could see the windows were blown in. It was dark, people used their mobile phones as torches. I could see black smoke coming in. Again, I thought, this is how I'm going to die'."

It was impossible to escape from the side of the train because the doors were too close to the tunnel wall so the driver guided passengers through the door on his compartment.

Mary, who has a 14-year-old son and a 25-year-old daughter, added: "I think there were only about 15 of us on one side of the wreckage who were able to get out at the Russell Square end of the tunnel. That's how close we were to the explosion. I don't know what happened to the poor people beyond that.

"I just didn't look behind me. I didn't want to see. The path we walked along was only about a foot wide because the lines were still live. It was eerily quiet. All you could hear was some people crying. I felt some blood trickle down my head."

Mary was among the first to emerge from Russell Square Tube station where commuters above ground were unaware of what had unfolded beneath their feet. "People were giving me funny looks," she added. "I was covered in soot and blood. People just didn't know what the hell had happened.

"I can't believe I've only got cuts and scrapes. Perhaps I was shielded by the blast by the sheer volume of people in there."

Mary walked the short distance to her place of work where her injuries were tended to by colleagues. Mary's husband Michael drove up to central London from his business in Thornton Heath as soon as he heard and was able to meet Mary in Covent Garden where his other daughter lives by 10am. Irish-born Mary cancelled her Friday evening flight to visit relatives in Dublin but has vowed to get on with her life. "I will get back on the Tube, I just don't know when," she said. "I need to rest and be with family."

Graham Ashton, 25, from Purley, works as a claims adviser for an insurance company directly opposite Aldgate Tube station.

He was already at work last Thursday when the bomb went off at 8.50am on a Circle line train between Liverpool Street station and Aldgate. There were simultaneous explosions near King's Cross and Edgware Road.

Graham said: "The reports at that time were that there had been a power surge. After reading this I continued about my daily business as usual until I heard that a bus had also exploded. At this point I realised that it must have been some kind of planned terrorist incident. I could see that some of the women were crying and many people were sitting on the floor looking very distressed. It was very much like a disaster movie with the sounds of police cars speeding through the streets of the city and helicopters in the sky.

"It was not until I got home and turned on the news reports that the enormity of the situation sunk in. Hearing about so many deaths happening just across the road from my office was quite a nasty experience."