Westminster Bridge attack: South Bank Patrol praised for response

Two members of the South Bank Patrol team were among the first to arrive at the scene of the attack, helping the injured, cordoning off the area, sending curious and confused pedestrians off the bridge and liaising with security and emergency services.

Chief Superintendent Richard Wood, Lambeth's borough commander, commended the South Bank Patrol at a ceremony held at County Hall this week.

Ch Supt Wood said: "South Bank Patrol were some of the first people to arrive at the scene, they acted quickly and calmly in a chaotic situation where members of the public and professionals can often struggle to think clearly.

"We are very grateful and commend the speed and selflessness with which they acted."

Govert Deketh, general manager of the London Marriott Hotel County Hall and chair of South Bank BID, added: "The London Marriott Hotel County Hall immediately recognised the need for a base and offered the hotel as an operational triage centre for the Patrol and Met Police.

"The nature of this event demonstrates how well people and organisations pull together and collaborate. The London Marriott Hotel County Hall is a member of South Bank BID, and we highly value the work the South Bank Patrol have done for the last nine years."

South Bank Patrol is managed by South Bank Employers' Group and funded through the South Bank Visitor Management Group – a public-private partnership of the major organisations on the South Bank and Lambeth Council. Revenue for the service is generated from London Eye section 106 contributions, private contributions from South Bank businesses and South Bank Business Improvement District (BID).

• Last month St Thomas' Hospital staff were commended for their response to the attack. Speaking at a board meeting of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, chairman Sir Hugh Taylor said: "On 22 March the world saw the kind of people who work here.

"This was the NHS and this trust at its very very best. We are proud of our clinical staff who went out on to the bridge with no concern for their own safety."