'We thought Manchester attack was just a normal collision - then we saw the blood'

Eyewitnesses have described the "terrifying" scenes during the car and stabbing attack in Manchester that left two people dead and four others with "a variety of serious injuries" outside a synagogue today on the morning of Yom Kippur.

The terror attack happened just after 9.30am outside Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Crumpsall, north Manchester, as Jewish worshippers marked the holiest day in the calendar. The suspect was shot dead by armed officers within seven minutes of the first emergency call, according to police.

Gareth, a delivery driver, told BBC Radio Manchester that at first he thought it was a "normal" car crash. "We thought we could see a car that had crashed, so we just thought it was a normal collision, but when we got a bit closer we saw a guy bleeding out on the floor. He was just unconscious, presumed dead. And then there was a guy in front of the car, he was lying on the floor, and there were a few people standing in the road."

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Gareth said panic broke out as someone shouted that the attacker had entered the synagogue or nearby school.

"Somebody shouted 'he's in the school or the synagogue' and then as we looked over the guy had a knife and he was just stabbing the window, trying to get in [the building], and within seconds the police arrived," he said. "They gave him a couple of warnings, he didn't listen, so they opened fire. He went down on the floor and then he started getting back up and then they shot him again."

Video shared on social media appears to show armed police pointing guns at a person on the ground outside the synagogue. As the suspect begins to get up, a gunshot is heard and he collapses again.

Another witness Shah, who lives behind the synagogue, described seeing a vehicle "just sort of rushing past and driving straight for the members of the public".

"After that I had seen a man jump out and sort of running towards the people," he told the BBC. "It was a little bit traumatising to be fair. And then after that I slowed down a little bit just to see what was going on and to try and call emergency services. And the man was just running out with a knife and he just started going on a bit of a rampage. It's quite terrifying to be completely honest."

Olivia Gold, who lives nearby, told the PA news agency: "It would have been very, very busy. I live around the corner, but I've walked around to give support. It's now just police doing what they do. I came out to see what was happening because I heard three helicopters. It's just horrendous."

She added: "We're a quiet community, just leave us alone. We don't want any of this. I think the response by police has been absolutely brilliant. They got here really, really quickly."