Barcelona attack: Oswestry couple describe shock from scene of atrocity
A couple on holiday in Barcelona have spoken of their horror after a near miss with the terrorist attack that left scores dead.
Harry Davies, 25 and Phoebe Jones, 20, from Morda near Oswestry, were on holiday in Barcelona when a terrorist drove a van into crowds killing at least 13 people and injuring around 50 in the famous La Rambla tourist area.
Reports in Barcelona said that the man who rented the van and mowed down pedestrians was Driss Oukabir, a man in his 20s who was born in Morocco.
The couple from Oswestry had been holidaying in the area since Tuesday and are staying in a hotel two streets from where the attack happened.
Harry described the moments after the attack and admitted the couple knew something was wrong, but did not realise it was a terrorist attack until they got back to their room and switched the television on.
He said: "It was a scary experience. We had been in the area hours before and walked onto the street just after it happened.
"There was a silence about the place, everyone just seemed very shocked and then one person just starting running and they everyone else followed.
"People were running into shops and the shutters were going up, so we ran as fast as we could back to our hotel.
"You see the events they have with the bull running through the streets, we thought it might have been that at first.
"We just carried on running and there were thousands of people behind us.
"We got back to the hotel and that was when we realised it had been a terrorist attack."
Police and local officials confirmed moments after the attack it was an incident of terrorism.
Spanish media reports said the driver of the vehicle, a white Fiat that had been rented in the city, had fled on foot.
The couple were walking towards the street in La Rambla before the attack happened, but were stopped by a street seller when the attack unfolded.
Harry added: "We were walking along and Phoebe was stopped for about five minutes by a woman selling pedicures on the side of the street.
"If we had not been stopped maybe we would have been caught up in it, because when we got to the area it seemed as if something had not long happened."
Phoebe added: "There were so many people running. People were asking police officers what happened but they were telling everyone to just get out of the area."
A second van was found parked in the town of Vic around 50 miles north of Barcelona and police said it could have been a planned getaway vehicle away from the Catalan capital.
Other information released by police included a Spanish passport being found inside the attackers van.
The couple were safe in their hotel room on Thursday evening and were considering coming home before they were due to fly back to England on Saturday.
Harry added: "It was a crazy experience. It would make me think twice about coming again.
"I don't think anyone realised what was happening to start with, but we are safe in the hotel now. We came back and shut all curtains.
"We are due to fly back home on Saturday but we've been looking online for flights home already."
Shropshire pays tribute to Barcelona victims
Tributes have been paid to the victims of the Barcelona attacks from across the county.
