Briton Nick Alexander killed in Paris terror attacks died to save others

The Briton who died in the Paris attacks bled to death in silence to save others caught up in the Bataclan theatre massacre, the singer of the band that played there has revealed.

Nick Alexander, 36, of Holland Park, had been selling merchandise at the venue when jihadist gunmen burst in as Eagles of Death Metal played a set.

Lead singer Jesse Hughes fought back tears as he said: “I think about Nick, who protected a friend of his. He stayed quiet and never called for help until he bled out because he didn’t want anyone else to get hurt.” He told how he was seconds from death when an attacker tried to aim his rifle at him — but caught the barrel on a door frame, giving the musician the chance to escape.

The Californian rock band were about 30 minutes into the gig when the shooting started. Eighty-nine of the band’s fans and colleagues died. Hughes said he ran around in the chaos looking for his girlfriend Tuesday Cross before he was forced into the street without her.

“I didn’t see her on the side of the stage so I ran up to the dressing room and threw the door open, she wasn’t in there,” he added. “I opened up the hallway door and that’s when I saw the shooter. He turned on me and brought his gun down and the barrel hit the door frame. And I was like, ‘Oh f**k.’ ”

He turned and fled before finding an exit. He and his girlfriend were reunited outside the venue, where they escaped to a police station with hundreds of distraught fans, some of whom were bleeding badly from bullet wounds.