Police gave no warning before shooting Jean Charles de Menezes, a witness has claimed.

Rachel Wilson told the Brazilian's inquest she did not realise at first that the marksmen were police and took them for pranksters instead.

She insisted they did not shout 'armed police' when they followed Mr de Menezes on to her Tube train.

Her position across the carriage from the 27-year-old Brazilian led to her being spattered in his blood when he was shot.

It is the first time that passengers on the Northern Line train at Stockwell station in South London have spoken publicly about the events of July 22, 2005.

Mr de Menezes was shot seven times in the head after being wrongly identified as July 21 suicide bomber Hussain Osman.