Five escaped military horses have run loose through central London after throwing their riders while exercising.
Four people were injured and a number of vehicles damaged in the incident in Wednesday morning rush hour.
One of the horses on the loose in London. Credit: PA
A witness to the incident said a horse bolted across the street into a parked car before galloping away. Bystanders screamed and ran as the animal raced towards them, witnesses claimed.
Bashir Aden, 48, a construction worker, said: “I saw a soldier falling down into the street after the horse ran into a car. One of my colleagues called the police.
The spooked horses running through central London on Wednesday morning. Credit: PA
“The man hit the floor hard, he was screaming in pain. You could see blood all over the parked car.
“The horses come down this route every day, but today the horse looked stressed or panicked. I saw the horse run away after it hit a bus. People were screaming and running all over.”
The five horses bolted and threw their riders as the Household Cavalry, made up of the Lifeguards and Blues & Royals, was on its daily morning exercise on Horseguards Parade, Whitehall.
A spokesperson for the London Ambulance Service said it was called at 8.25am to reports of a person being thrown from a horse in Buckingham Palace Road, and the first paramedic was on the scene within five minutes.