A MOTHER confronted the Woolwich attackers, asking them to hand over their weapons and warning them: "It is only you versus many people, you are going to lose," it was reported tonight.

Ingrid Loyau-Kennett, 48, told the Daily Telegraph that one of the attackers said to her that they "want to start a war in London tonight".

The mother-of-two, a cub scout leader from Cornwall according to the report, added: "Being a cub leader I have my first aid so when I saw this guy on the floor I thought it was an accident - then I saw the guy was dead and I could not feel any pulse.

"And then when I went up there was this black guy with a revolver and a kitchen knife, he had what looked like butchers' tools and he had a little axe, to cut the bones, and two large knives, and he said move off the body.

"So I thought OK, I dont know what is going on here and he was covered with blood. I thought I had better start talking to him before he starts attacking somebody else. I thought these people usually have a message so I said, "what do you want?"

"I asked him if he did it and he said "yes," and I said: "Why?" And he said because he has killed Muslim people in Muslim countries, he said he was a British solider and I said, "really?" And he said: "I killed him because he killed Muslims and I am fed up with people killing Muslims in Afghanistan, they have nothing to do there.""

Mrs Loyau-Kennett said that the attacker seemed to be in full control of his decisions and ready to do everything he wanted to do.

She added: "I said, "Right now it is only you versus many people, you are going to lose, what would you like to do?" and he said: "I would like to stay and fight.""