A DECADE ago this week, Britain experienced elation and horror in the space of 24 hours.

A day after the announcement that the 2012 Olympics were coming to London, four terrorists murdered 52 people in attacks on public transport across the city.

Swindon area people caught up in the chaos following the attacks made their way home as and when they could, and many shared their stories.

Among them was 59-year-old electrical and mechanical consultant Chris Page from Wanborough, who had been sitting in an office block about 200 yards from the explosion which tore a bus apart in Tavistock Square.

Shielded from sight or sound of the blast, he soon found himself comforting a member of the building’s staff who had seen everything.

He said: “London has shut down. There are no tube trains and no buses. It took me an hour and a half to walk from Oxford Street to Paddington Station.”

Pam Shepherd, 32, from Ramleaze, was in nearby Russell Square when the bus exploded. She said: “I heard a huge blast, a really deep noise, like a car bomb.

“It was terrifying. People were running and shouting. I feared for my safety. All I could think of was what if there’s a second one to come.

“I managed to get a message home to say I was safe.”

Shortly after the outrage, Swindon Station was closed when suspect packages, later discovered to be birthday presents, were found. Later an abandoned bank deposit envelope caused a security alert and cordon in the town centre, but turned out to contain only sweets.

Just a day earlier the Adver had been full of the news that London had been chosen ahead of nearest rival Paris to host the 2012 Olympics.

Among those celebrating were local Olympian Matt O‘Dowd and Paralympian Anne Dunham.

Matt, who competed in the Marathon at the 2004 Athens Games, said: “Winning the bid will have a multitude of effects all over the country.

“More kids everywhere will be inspired to take up sport.”

Anne, a three-time equestrian gold medal winner who would add two more in 2008, said: ”We put in a very strong bid – I’ve seen what we had on offer myself. I’m sure we will put on a good show.”

There were also claims from some local dignitaries – rather optimistic claims, as things turned out – that Swindon could expect a huge influx of visitors and a mini economic boom thanks to its proximity to London.

Swindon Chamber of Commerce chief executive Dennis Grant was among the commentators.

Grant, who would later become Cotswold Water Park boss and be jailed for stealing more than £700,000 from the charity, said: “Because Swindon is in close striking distance of London there will be a boom here.

“This will include an influx of visitors which will benefit hoteliers and traders.”

Still looking to the future, we also revealed that driverless taxis might eventually ferry people from what is now Wichelstowe to the town centre.

Local transport officials were looking at the ULTra – Urban Light Transport – system which was under development.

“It would be exciting and new and put Swindon on the map,” said Celia Carrington, the council’s director of environment and property.

“They are electric taxis that run on a rail. You get in and programme it, and then it stops where you want to go.”

Were it not for the global economic meltdown which happened three years later, ULTra might have become a familiar part of life in towns and cities all over the country. As things stand, the only operational system is at Heathrow Airport, and has an excellent reliability record.

In local celebrity news, Melinda Messenger had joined a panel of parents, personalities and assorted experts put together by washing powder firm Persil. Their mission? To come up with a list of 33 things every child should do before they turned 10.

The suggestions included camping out in the garden, taking part in a treasure hunt and collecting frogspawn.

Melinda herself told us: “When I was a child I was forever playing outdoors, making dens and mud pies, making Lego houses for caterpillars, practicing dance routines and just generally getting mucky.

“It does seem a shame that nowadays children are missing out on some of those simple pleasures.”

Billie Piper, then at the height of her fame as Rose Tyler in the revived Doctor Who, was nominated in the Best Actress category of that year’s National Television Awards.

She won when the ceremony rolled around that October, beating a field which include Zoe Lucker from Footballers Wives and Patsy Kensit from Emmerdale.

Christopher Ecclestone’s Doctor would shortly become David Tennant’s, but a spokeswoman for the show said Billie would stay.

She added: “We can confirm that she will be back for the entire second series.

“She has signed for all 13 episodes and the Christmas episode, and we are absolutely delighted.”