A LAWYER has told of the terrifying moment he was caught up in bomb blasts in Iraq.

John Tipple, of Harwich solicitors Linn and Associates, was at the Al-Rasheed hotel in Baghdad when a series of bombs went off yesterday.

At least 75 people were killed and 300 people injured in the attacks, which also hit government buildings.

Ramsey resident Mr Tipple, who was in the lobby with a colleague, dived under the table he had been working at when he heard the explosions.

He and his colleague Nick Wrack were uninjured in the attack.

Mr Tipple, who rang the Gazette after the blasts, said: “If I had been in my room I would be dead right now.

“I heard between seven and ten blasts. My door was blown from its frame and the window had exploded out. The room’s destroyed.

“Nick and I were discussing a case and my papers were out on the table when I heard the rush and heard the explosions.

“I did what I had been told and dived for cover under the table. My security team were everywhere. We were close to death.”

The Al-Rasheed was hit after two car bombs in its car park exploded causing damage to the hotel, the nearby Foreign Ministry building and Iraq Parliament, injuring at least 90 people.

Mr Tipple was unable to leave the scene because of security checks.

He added: “The atmosphere is just really tense because absolutely anything can happen. American soldiers have been in and out of our hotel, loads of them, and there’s a huge plume of black smoke.

“I’m looking at ambulances now, queuing up to get into the areas that have been hit, and I can hear helicopters in the sky and more just keep appearing.

“I don’t know if I will get back to the UK.”

Mr Tipple arrived in the Iraqi capital on Monday to meet Daniel Fitzsimons, a former Colchester Para and private security guard, who is being held by police after the murder of two of his colleagues earlier this month.