‘To be so close that you can hear it happening is terrifying’

Follow our live coverage of the Bondi shooting here.

First and foremost, my thoughts are with all the innocent people who lost their lives or were injured in the horrific attack in Bondi on Sunday. It is an event that will devastate families forever, and for what?

I am in Australia covering the Ashes and have my family with me, staying in the neighbouring suburb of Coogee. We were just a few hundred metres from the attack, locked down in Totti’s restaurant.

Like most people, I have been at home watching terrorist attacks unfold in London, or Manchester, near where I live. That all feels very close to home and is scary. But to be so close that you can hear it happening is terrifying.

At first, I heard the very loud sirens and thought it was a shark attack. Usually, when you hear that sound on the beach, it’s sharks or a couple of well-oiled blokes brawling.

But it quickly became clear it was even more concerning than that. As we waited for our table at the restaurant, we were having a drink in the Royal pub next door, and I was on the phone outside. The bouncer walked over with his hands in a gun sign and told me to get inside.

By the time we were sat down, we knew there had been an attack, and the social media rumour mill began to swirl. The restaurant locked the doors and made clear no one was leaving until it was safe. That was about 7pm, and we did not leave until almost 9pm.

I have never experienced anything like it. You know what’s happening around you, but you don’t want to believe it’s happening. There were people eating, but it was a very sombre atmosphere. There were six of us – me, my wife, her sister, my two daughters, and one of their friends.

Obviously, I was trying to stay as calm as possible because the youngsters know what is happening, and you don’t want to give them anything else to fear.

Eventually, we got told the restaurant was shutting early, so people were trying to get away. Obviously, Uber wasn’t working, there weren’t many taxis, but we were fortunate that a friend was able to come and pick us up and take us back to Coogee.

It’s the day after, when you think that we could have been sat on that beach. We had been watching my son play cricket, and it overran. We could easily have gone down to the beach rather than straight to the pub and restaurant.

You can only imagine what could have happened if that civilian had not taken the gun off the terrorist, and disarmed him. What a hero. The police response and everyone around was very calm. I love the Aussie spirit. They don’t pull any punches.

To target Jewish people celebrating Hanukkah is hideous. People just trying to celebrate a special time of year together on a Sunday. To target Bondi is also horrible. It’s the haven of chill, and a symbol of this great country.

You think of Australia, and very quickly you think of Bondi Beach. It’s multicultural, young and old, a place for everyone. People flocked to the beach on Sunday, which was a beautiful, sunny day.

These two utter scumbags can’t stop society. To target a religious festival and to target to Bondi Beach and all it stands for is disgusting.

I spend a lot of time in Sydney and tend to stay in Coogee nearby. I love the whole area and do the Coogee to Bondi walk pretty much every day. I will continue to do that because life has to carry on.

We’ve become used to these events in Europe, but you don’t get this stuff like this in Australia. There will be a lot of spirit on show to make sure this community and this country get back on track quickly.

It’s a cloudy Monday morning in Coogee, so there are not as many people out as there sometimes are. The mood remains sombre. Lots of people, including me, are still a bit shaken. The hard thing is what do I tell my youngest, a teenage daughter? My older daughter is staying in Sydney for work. You just have to instil defiance and tell them that the destructive mindset of a few bad apples cannot stop the rest of us enjoying life.

The Telegraph, London

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