Helston woman confronts machete wielding Woolwich terrorists - UPDATE

Wayne Bulpitt, The Scout’s UK chief commissioner, said: “We are very proud of Scout volunteer Ingrid Loyau-Kennett for her calm and measured actions in very difficult circumstances.

“We are looking to make an award of bravery to her in the fullness of time to recognise her actions.

“At this time our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of the victim of this terrible crime.”

Andrew George MP said: "I pray tribute to the local cub scout leader, Ingrid Loyau-Kennett, who had the courage to intervene in an attempt to calm the situation and to offer help.”

The Prime Minister David Cameron has also praised her bravery and cool head.

A Helston mother who risked her life to confront an armed man suspected of slaughtering a British soldier in broad daylight, has described how she tried to calm him moments after the barbaric attack.

Ingrid Loyau-Kennett, 48, was on a bus heading through Woolwich in south east London on Thursday afternoon when she spotted the stricken soldier lying bloodied in the road.

Her bravery - and that of others who tried to reason with the killers - has been praised, particularly in the wake of amateur footage from the scene, which shows one of the two suspects making political statements about the slaughter while still brandishing weapons.

The Prime Minister David Cameron said: “Confronting extremism is a job for us all and the fact that our communities will unite in doing this was vividly demonstrated by the brave Cub pack leader, Ingrid Loyau-Kennett, who confronted one of the attackers on the streets of Woolwich yesterday afternoon.

“When told by the attacker he wanted to start a war in London, she replied: ‘you’re going to lose, it is only you versus many’. She spoke for us all.”

Speaking to the Packet her son Basil Baradaran, who lives roughly a mile from the scene, said: “I think it’s very brave – I don’t know if she agrees. The whole thing has taken her aback; this is something she thought she had to do.”

Ms Loyau-Kennett had actually been returning home after a visit to the capital to see her children, Basil and Pawony Baradaran, when the drama unfolded.

After reasoning with the man at the scene, the former cub scout and brownie leader got back on the bus as she had to catch a train back to Cornwall.

She actually made it as far as Plymouth before receiving a phone call from the ITV programme Daybreak, which paid for a taxi to take her back to London to be interviewed the following morning.

Former cub leader Ms Loyau-Kennett told Daybreak she initially thought the victim had been injured in a car crash after spotting a badly damaged vehicle on a pavement at the scene.

She said: "I went to the guy and when I approached the body there was a lady cradling him. And then (one of the killers), the most excited one of the two, said, 'Don't go too close to the body'. I thought, okay. And because I was down I could see a butcher's knife and an axe - that's what he had - and blood. I thought, what the heck? I thought obviously he was a bit excited and the thing was just to talk to him."

Ms Loyau-Kennett said she tried to reason with the alleged killer in an effort to focus his attention away from other potential victims, as large crowds began to huddle at the scene.She said: "I know it's big today but for me it was just a regular guy, just a bit upset. He was not on drugs, he was not drunk.

"He said, 'Don't touch, I killed him'. I said, 'Why?' He said: 'He's a British soldier. He killed people. He killed Muslim people in Muslim countries.'

Warning graphic content

Ms Loyau-Kennett said: "I wanted him to concentrate on me and make sure he doesn't have a funny idea." Asked if she was scared, the woman replied: "No - better me than a child. Unfortunately there were more and more mothers with children stopping around, so it was even more important I was talking to him and ask him what he wanted."

Woolwich and Greenwich MP Nick Raynsford has praised the "extraordinary" bravery of members of the public who approached the killers. The men are currently in separate London hospitals being treated for injuries after they were shot by police at the scene. Relatives of the dead soldier are believed to have been informed though he has yet to be named.

One of the men allegedly behind the barbaric killing was filmed wielding a bloodied meat cleaver, saying: "We swear by almighty Allah we will never stop fighting you." In the chilling footage obtained by ITV news, he explains his terrifying actions, saying: "We must fight them as they fight us. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth."

Watch the Daybreak interview here