An American tourist was saved by a policeman and three off-duty doctors when his heart stopped beating after he was stabbed in the face during the London Bridge attacks.
Robert Piersant, from Colorado Springs, was with his wife and son, visiting their daughter and had been sightseeing for the day then before having dinner in the Elephant and Castle area.
They planned to walk along the river, past the Golden Hind ship, back to their hotel, leaving London Bridge tube station after 10pm.
The family had been in the London Bridge area on June 3, 2017, when terrorists struck, killing eight people and injuring 48.
Robert Piersant (pictured above with his now ex-wife Joyce Piersant) arriving at the Old Bailey to give evidence in the ongoing inquest
Police and members of the emergency services were pictured attending victims of a terror attack
Mr Piersant told the inquest into the attack that he had noticed there had been no people on one side of the street and that he thought there would have been more traffic for the time of night, and due to the area they were in.
'I noticed there were no people on one side of the street. I thought at that time of night in a social neighbourhood like that there would be more traffic.
'I was looking back to make sure my wife was still with me because she was walking a little slow. As I rotated back forward I noticed a male who looked like he was leaning against a building. He had this funny, angry look, like, 'What are you doing?'
'As I continued to straighten myself out, that is when I was run into by another male. He ran at me, like a bull rush, enough to get you off balance but not knock you over. My first thought it's ten o'clock on a Saturday night near Borough Market, some drunk hit me.'
He added that he pushed the attack away and called him a drunk, it was then he said he noticed a 'brownish red' item in his hand, which he referred to as a 'bowey knife'.
'As I pushed him back I'm looking at him, he had a bit of an angry look and that's all I can recall.'
Dr Jonathan Moses (pictured above), who graduated a year-and-a-half before terrorists struck at London Bridge on June 3 2017
Yesterday the inquest heard how off-duty junior doctor Dr Jonathan Moses had apologised for victims for not being able to save them, after he was locked in a restaurant. He was eventually let out and managed to tend to Marie Bondeville, who survived 18 stab wounds, and Spanish banker Ignacio Echeverria, 39, who had tried to protect her with his skateboard before he was fatally wounded.
Mr Piersant was stabbed in the base of his skull and across the lower lip and blacked out, and said he tried to pull himself up off the pavement.
'I kept trying to pull myself up. I don't know how long I was out but three doctors came out from the restaurants. I was trying to talk but I couldn't because my lip was gone and that's when I started to become conscious of the injuries.'
'I became aware of blood coming from the back of my head. Having seen a knife in his hands I made the assumption that he went nuts. I took my three little fingers and put them in the hole in the back of my head to stop the bleeding.
'One of the doctors ran off muttering very loudly we need a proper first aid kit and came back with blue paper towels.'
The graphic above shows the various points in the London Bridge and the surrounding areas which were affected
A police officer came up, and tried to settle him down and stop him getting to his feet.
'When I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, he said, 'Stay with me.' He did the majority of the CPR.
'There was gunfire from the direction of the market. I heard two bursts of gunfire and after one, the PC threw himself ontop of me, getting himself between the bullets and me.'
He said the doctors and the police officer were frantically trying to call an ambulance and flag down an ambulance but the ambulances were driving by.
The van (pictured above) which had been used by the terrorists during the attack, before they mounted the pavement
Police officers (pictured above) attending the scene at London Bridge following the attacks in 2017
At one point he lost a pulse and CPR had to be administered, the inquest heard.
'It was like you see on TV. I heard, 'I don't have a pulse, I don't have breathing' and I recall flatlining twice.
'I have no evil thoughts or bad feelings. The people who did this are crazy, I know nothing about their background.
'I am upset about the state of the politics but stupid people do stupid things. You have to take it in your stride.
'I am very grateful to the state of the police department and their assistance especially PC Sam Philpot who never left my side. The doctors did great things putting me back together but if it wouldn't have been for that PC, I wouldn't have got to the hospital. Thank you,' he said.
One of the knives used used by the London Bridge terrorists Khuram Shazad Butt, Rachid Redouane and Youssef Zaghba in the attack
Pictured: terrorists Khuram Shazad Butt, Rachid Redouane and Youssef Zaghba
His ex-wife Joyce Piersant was also stabbed and described in a statement how they were surrounded by the three killers.
She said one of them had looked her in the eyes before hesitating, which she described as 'questioning eyes'.
'I think he was thinking through something. Then I felt a punch towards the chest, clavicle, on my right hand side. I recall seeing his fist around the handle and the thrusting motion - forward with a downward trajectory.
'I got the impression he thought it would be enough. I knew he wanted to kill me, I don't know why, it was in his eyes.'
The victims of the attack (Top, from left) Christine Archibald, James McMullan, Alexandre Pigeard, Sebastien Belanger, (bottom, from left) Kirsty Boden, Sara Zelenak, Xavier Thomas and Ignacio Echeverria
The men screamed and ran off, she said, adding: 'It was then I saw my husband down on the ground. I could clearly see that my husband was bleeding badly.'
'I recall feeling in shock, it doesn't happen to us, the words, 'I was stabbed by a terrorist' is not in my vocabulary. I do not want it to be sensationalised or cause any hate. The attackers are non-entities to me and they are dead.'
The inquest also heard today how an Australian tourist was also stabbed in the face, before being offered a pint of beer after he made a miraculous escape to a nearby pub.
Andrew Morrison had been watching the Champions League final with friends when he saw what he initially thought was a brawl on Borough High Street, on that fateful night in 2017.
Mr Morrison came face to face with one of the attackers brandishing a kitchen knife, who he described as having a ‘dark, middle eastern, Islamic appearance.’
In a statement read to the inquest today Mr Morrison said he saw police brandishing batons screaming ‘drop it,’ as people lay motionless on the ground.
Mr Morrison tried to flee the scene but was cornered by one the attackers holding a 30cm ‘everyday kitchen knife’ that ‘appeared to be glowing pink.’
‘I said, “wow, wow, wow.” Then my instant reaction was to put my hands up to protect myself and attempt to duck and dive.’
Mr Morrison managed to avoid most of the blows with the blood-soaked blade but the attacker was making a ‘swinging motion’ and stabbed him to the left side of his cheek and jaw.
The Aussie told how he managed to escape the Jihadi terrorist by running towards a nearby pub.
‘I saw my hands were covered in blood from my open wound and I realised my wound was quite big and deep.
‘I didn’t feel like I had been stabbed, it was more like I had been punched..’
He then managed to make his way into a bar:
