How I didn't meet Leona Lewis

I've been a huge fan of Leona Lewis since her time on The X Factor, but I never had the opportunity to see her in the flesh before, let alone actually meet her. So when I heard she was doing a book signing for her autobiography, Dreams, at Waterstone's in Piccadilly on Wednesday, I jumped at the chance.

I guessed I would be ok to leave at 1pm, as it started at 3, but I started to have doubts, thinking there would be thousands of people there already and I wouldn't get to see her at all. But after people on Twitter told me I should go, I thought I'd have no chance if I stayed at home, but if I didn't go I'd never know what chance I'd have! So I left at 1.15 to go to the train station and spent £20 on a train ticket to London. I arrived in Piccadilly, paid £12.99 for a copy of the book and joined the queue at around 2.15pm. Surprisingly, I was only number 205, and they were guaranteeing the first 250 people. So I waited in the queue, and got chatting to a few people including a guy from Southend called Robert, whose brother was already queuing inside the shop.

Eventually we got inside the shop, up on the fourth floor. My heart was pounding, knowing that Leona was only on the other side of the room! I tried to catch a glimpse from a distance. As we moved closer, I saw her face! I couldn't believe it! She looked so beautiful. Then I was right near to the barrier and when people moved out from in front of her I could see her perfectly! Then...

I was talking to Robert when I heard a thump. I looked up and the security guards had pounced on someone. We knew straight away that Leona had been hit. He was wrestled to the ground while Leona was rushed off, holding her face. The man shouted "Leona I love you". We didn't know if he punched her or slapped her, but we were all in total shock! The man was dragged past the queue where Robert shouted at him.

Staff said they would find out if Leona would come back down to finish the signing, but about 15 minutes later they came back and said she wouldn't, but if we left our books with our contact details, they would have them signed at a later date so we can go and collect them.

After leaving the shop, a group of us went around the back where a small crowd had formed near a car where a group of bodyguards were waiting. I think we waited about half an hour or so, and the guards asked us not to move forward or to try to speak to Leona. I think she might have come to meet the fans if the incident never occured. We saw her boyfriend Lou get into the passenger side of the car, and a minute later, Leona was rushed out of the building and straight into the car. I hardly got to see her because the Waterstone's staff were lined up in front of us. Some people cheered her to show their support.

Then I came home, and found I'd got a tweet from the 3am Girls wanting to know what I'd seen. I sent them a brief message. On Facebook, I had a message from someone from the Evening Standard who asked if he could speak to me on the phone, so we had a quick chat about what I'd seen. I was also asked if I'd call Richard Bacon's Radio 5 Live show, but I didn't.

Then today I found I was quoted in the Evening Standard, here. I later found out the man had been sectioned under the Mental Health Act, which didn't surprise me as we knew he must have had problems, because nobody in their right mind would hurt Leona! She's the sweetest, softest person I can think of, who wouldn't harm a fly! She's a vegetarian for goodness sake! But Leona, I hope you're well and I really hope this incident doesn't put you off doing similar events in the future, because I know I'll be there when you do.