Shropshire Star

'We were lucky': Shropshire couple nearly visited Berlin Christmas market on night of attack

A Shropshire couple in Berlin have spoken of the horrific attack on the Christmas market where they had planned to go on the same night.

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Ben Leonard and Lara Hopkins, both from Oswestry, say they were "very lucky" they changed their minds on Monday night and went to see relatives instead, but have spoken of the mood in the German capital following the shock killing of 12 people when a lorry ploughed into a row of booths at the Christmas market on Breitscheidplatz.

Mr Leonard, 31, a support worker at Derwen College, said he had never felt anything like he did when watching the horror unfold in the city he was in, with people who lived there.

He had gone to visit for a pre-Christmas break with Miss Hopkins, a 25-year-old early years teacher with German relatives, but much of the city had fallen into an eerie quiet following the attack, in stark contrast to the usual Christmas hustle and bustle.

He said: "We were quite lucky because we were going to go out to the Christmas Market. But Lara's got family here and we decided to go see them instead.

"When the news broke we were there, and it was not nice having to watch their reaction to the news – especially as there were a lot of young people there because it was Lara's cousin's birthday.

"The market that it happened at is the one we usually go to when we're here.

"It was a horrible feeling, I've never felt anything like that before, I felt sick and Lara was obviously very upset.

"Later we had to get back to our hotel on the U-barn and we rushed back as fast as we could.

"But at the time I didn't feel particularly scared – that was more Tuesday night, in the city."

He said ironically the sheer volume of police on the streets added to the sense of unease.

A police officer stands guard (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

"The police presence is absolutely massive now," he said.

"We went up to the Brandenburg Gate, which is lit up with the German flag.

"There were candles and vigils going on and it was very, very emotional, I was getting choked up.

"But we just went back after that because we didn't feel safe – there were so many police around it just felt like something wasn't right.

"Last night and the night before everywhere has been really quiet, all the Christmas markets are closed when they're normally really busy.

"This close to Christmas, you can only imagine how the locals must feel."

The Brandenburg Gate which is illuminated in the colours of the German flag. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

He said terrorist attacks like this one were so unpredictable they were hard to defend against, despite many questioning whether enough was done to identify potential terrorists among refugees coming into the country.

"A lot of the Germans are angry at Angela Merkel for letting in so many asylum seekers now, but that's 900,000 people and this is just one person," Mr Leonard said.

The couple are due to fly back today.

He said: "It's not nice to be here at the moment.

"We've tried to go about our business as much as possible because we had a lot planned, but we're also being cautious for our safety."

German police say they have received more than 500 leads that could help them identify the man who drove a truck, though a 23-year-old Pakistani asylum seeker who was arrested as a suspect in the immediate aftermath was released on Tuesday evening without being charged.

Among the dead was the vehicle's registered driver, ?ukasz Urban, a 37-year-old Polish national who was shot after the truck came to its final standstill, but he is thought to have been a passenger against his will.

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