Teacher hid in basement as Paris gunmen ran amok outside
A teacher from Staffordshire found herself caught up in the terror attacks in Paris - hiding in basement for several hours to remain safe.
Abigail Godridge, from Weston in Staffordshire, was dinning in Place de la Republique when attackers burst into neighbouring venues and began spraying bullets.
The 25-year-old, who teaches English in Paris, saw people panicking and running in to the streets when the shootings began.
Her mother, Mel Godridge, said she Abgail, who has lived in France for two years, survived because terrorists had luckily ignored the restaurant she was eating in.
She said restaurant bosses had ushered customers into basements to hide for several hours when the gunshots broke out on Friday night.
"I am so thankful that I went to bed on Friday night without seeing the news so I had no clue what was going on until the morning," she said.
"I tried to contact Abi in the morning but couldn't get through to her.
"Then I saw on Facebook that a terror alert had been put out and Abi had marked herself as being safe.
"That was a good thing for me because I knew then that she was safe.
"But it was a relief when I finally got to speak to her."
Mel said her daughter realised the extend of the attacks when she saw people running in the streets.
She said most survivors did not get back to the apartments until 6am the following morning.
"She didn't get back to her apartment until 6am the next morning," she said.
"Abi has been living in Paris for the past two years and doesn't normally go to that area where the attacks were.
"She is obviously shocked by what has happened but she is fine.
"This isn't putting her off being in Paris.
"Everyone over there is just carrying on with life as they should after something like this happens."
