A NORTH Yorkshire student has been caught up in the terrorist attack which claimed 13 lives in Barcelona.

Kiera Birkenshaw, a 22-year-old student from Scarborough, is staying at a hotel just a minute’s walk away from where a white van crashed into a summer crowd in the Spanish city.

She had been enjoying a romantic break with her partner Kyle Morrison when the attack happened.

The pair had caught a bus in Barcelona’s historic Las Ramblas district just minutes before the incident.

They were visiting the city zoo when they heard police sirens and spotted helicopters hovering above the scene. 

Kyle, 29, a car salesman from Middlesbrough, said: 

“At first we didn’t pay much attention but then we saw police helicopters hovering in the sky. A minute or two later we were told the zoo was closing but we weren’t being allowed to leave for our own safety.

“Although the staff didn’t tell us what had happened people were using their mobile phones to find out there had been a terror attack.”

After about an hour the zoo opened the gates and allowed visitors to leave. 

But Kyle and Kiera were staying at the Hotel Arcla-Rambla, which is less than a minute’s walk away from the scene of the terror attack, and police told them it would be hours before they would be allowed to return.

Kiera said: “I think we were both in shock. We just wandered around Barcelona not knowing what to do.”

Eventually they managed to make their way back to the hotel after being advised to take back streets by a policeman.

Islamic State has since claimed responsibility for the atrocity. Last night police said the van driver had been arrested. A second suspect is also in custody this evening and a third man was shot dead when he drove at a police checkpoint.

Officials said 13 people were killed and more than 100 injured.

Last night from their hotel room, Kyle said: “Most of the street is still taped off. We can see it from our window. There are large crowds gathered at the tape and a very heavy police presence.  We feel safe now but it’s a sobering thought to know the attack took place where we had caught a bus just a few minutes earlier.”

Today the pair attended a blood donor clinic to give blood for the victims of the attack.

Although they are shaken Kiera, 22, a student from Scarborough, added: “We won’t let it spoil our break. The best way to deal with it is to carry on as normal.”