NAILSWORTH accountant Jacqueline Wood who survived the Aldgate tube bomb has spoken of the awful sights she witnessed while trying to escape the smoke filled underground tunnel.

Ms Wood, 31 survived the blast after it went off in the carriage next to hers on Thursday morning, killing and maiming dozens of her fellow passengers.

She described the moment when the bomb went off in the tunnel just outside Aldgate tube station, saying the horror she witnessed made her afraid to shut her eyes on Thursday night.

"There was a loud bang," she said. "Bits of debris and a warm gush of air came tumbling through the carriage.

"The lights went out in the train but there was light in the tunnel. We did not know what had happened. At first we thought we had hit another train.

"After the initial bang and sudden stop, people collected themselves and were calm - everybody was very calm.

"After about five or 10 minutes a man opened a connecting door and told us that there was a lot of smoke further up the train and could we move down to the rear.

"There were some awful screams for help from the front of the train and someone said there were dead people up there.

"It must have been about 10 minutes later when we saw the London transport people on the line with flashlights.

"They told us to exit the rear of the train; We got out and had to walk back past the carriage next to where we were sat. It was absolutely horrific.

"We had to walk up the tracks. It was dark, the smell was awful, a burning smell. We had to walk over bits of the carriage, bits of clothing and bits of people.

"I saw three dead people on the tracks and some very badly injured people inside the affected carriage who were being attended to.

"Once outside the station people just collapsed on the floor sobbing. I was standing next to a very distraught South African woman who could not contact her work. I gave her my mobile phone to use and a can of diet coke which I happened to have in my bag.

"I found it good to have someone to care for as it took my mind off the awful sight I witnessed in the tunnel.

"I walked the woman back to where she worked and left her in the care of her colleagues, then made my way back to my place of work

"I was composed until I entered the reception area, when I just collapsed into the arms of one of the security officers and could not stop sobbing."

Ms Wood eventually made it to Paddington and collapsed into the arms of her father David and brother Nick at Swindon station.

With the awful sights and sounds of the bombing still fresh in her memory, Ms Wood confronted her fears by returning to work in London on Monday.

She told the SNJ: "I had to go back."

"Londoners are going to get on with it. It is not going to stop them. I had to get back on that tube on Monday. I love London - and I love my job."

Looking back at the tragedy, she is immensely grateful that she survived when so many others did not.

"I am absolutely fine and I thank God for that. It is just chance - you get on the tube wherever you can prise yourself in and I could have been on that carriage.

Forcing back tears, she added: "There were a lot of poor souls that didn't make it to work and didn't make it home."