A FORMER Worcester pupil escaped the terrorist attack in India thanks to a last-minute change of plan.

Chris Way had planned to meet a friend at the Leopold Cafe but because of work commitments he postponed.

The decision meant he was not in the restaurant when it was stormed by gunmen firing at tourists.

The 33-year-old is now staying inside and waiting for the attack to end.

He said: “The explosions are still going on and we are wondering when it is all going to finish. Schools and colleges are shut. The British Foreign Office’s website advises us to stay indoors.

“I guess we Brits are still a little bit vulnerable because of what the terrorists were shouting, but I have plenty to do at home.”

The former King’s School student moved to Mumbai in 2005 to set-up a travel company. He was having drinks at a bar in one of Mumbai’s suburbs when the attacks happened.

He said: “My initial feeling was one of shock, but I was not sure of the scale of it. Bombings do happen in India so I guess it was not completely out of the blue, but as time went on and I saw the coverage through the night, the scale of it became frightening.”

Mr Way, whose parents live in Astley, near Stourport-on-Severn, works 30 metres away from the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, where foreign hostages are being held by terrorists.

“The area is completely cordoned off, but there is no panic where I am,” he said.