Bloodied military horses run rampage through the streets of London, injuring four

Four people were taken to hospital after army horses broke loose near Bukingham Palace. Watch video. Warning: Graphic

Four people have been left injured after spooked Household Cavalry horses bolted and ran loose for almost 10kms through central London.

At least one soldier was hurt after a terrified horse galloped into cars and taxis outside the Clermont Hotel on Buckingham Palace Road, Victoria.

Pictures shared on social media show an injured man lying on the ground on Fleet Street.

Five Household Cavalry horses, including one covered in blood, were also seen bounding down other areas of London including Tower Bridge and the Strand before ending up in the Docklands in East London.

The military horses were spooked by noisy building works and bolted, tossing their riders from the Lifeguards and Blues & Royals off their saddles, as they left on their daily morning exercise from Hyde Park Barracks in Knightsbridge in central London, on Wednesday.

All the horses have been recaptured and taken back to the military base and are being treated for injuries.

Household Cavalry horses on the loose in London. Picture: Facebook

London Ambulance Service paramedics said the four people had been injured at three different locations.

Its crews were sent to attend incidents in Buckingham Palace Road, Belgrave Square and the junction of Chancery Lane and Fleet Street to separate reports of incidents with a horse.

Onlooker Vicki Ansombe tweeted: “I thought I was going mad, did anyone else see the horses covered in blood charging down Fleet Street this morning?”

She later said: “They were galloping down the road, I thought I was watching a film at first, I thought it was a film set and I had stumbled across the live props.”

The owner of a silver Mercedes-Benz people carrier that was rammed by one of the bloodied Household Cavalry horses said it had cut itself when it careered into the car’s windscreen.

The driver of the van, identified as Faraz, was picking up a client outside the Clermont Hotel by Victoria Station, and told LBC that a white horse was injured from the impact.

“I was just sitting by the car with my passenger … I didn’t see the horse hit my car, I was like, smashed senseless, the people just came by my car to check ‘are you OK,’” he told LBC:

“It was just like a smash, his head hit it very hard and then [went] down. I saw about three, four horses, and I think it was the white horse which hit my car.”

A white horse on the loose bolts through the streets of London near Aldwych. Picture: Jordan Pettitt/PA Images via Getty Images

Onlooker Darren Brooks, a labourer, 40, added: “One of them, a white horse, ran into a Mercedes taxi and cut its front. It was bleeding.

“The same horse ran up to the junction and hit a bus at the traffic lights.

“The noise sounded like a car crash, it was pretty scary.”

Horses are a regular sight around government buildings on Whitehall, Buckingham Palace, The Mall and in nearby Hyde Park and several prestigious army cavalry regiments have stables in London.

London Ambulance Service said it was called at 8:25am local time to reports of a person being thrown from a horse on Buckingham Palace Road.

BBC Radio 2 travel presenter Bobbie Pryor said she considered throwing herself in the path of two of the runaway horses in Charing Cross to break the stampede but the speed at which they were charging was too dangerous.

“As I looked to the left I saw two horses coming towards me, I ran just to get across the road,” she told Jeremy Vine’s radio program.

“It was coming at such a speed, I thought, I need to stop those horses, I need to stop those horses but they are huge and coming at speed.

“I have been around horses before but normally you try and put yourself in the way, if it is safe to do so.

“There was a clear road ahead and I was thinking if I don’t stop them they are going to go straight into those buses up there and that is really upsetting.

“Also you can’t get in the way, in fact at least they are running in a straight line, you have got people either side, you have got glass windows, you could create a worse situation.

“At least if they run for a bit they may be able to run out of breath.”

Household Cavalry horses on the loose in London galloped along streets and smashed into vehicles, injuring four on Buckingham Palace Road, Victoria. Pictures also show an injured man lying on the ground on Fleet Street. Picture: Facebook

A black horse collides with a London Taxi after bolting down the A4 near Aldwych, central London. Picture: Jordan Pettitt/PA Images via Getty Images

Up to seven horses initially got loose, Britain’s domestic Press Association news agency reported, with police working with the army to recapture them.

The army said in a statement that “a number of military working horses became loose during routine exercise this morning”.

“All of the horses have now been recovered and returned to camp. A number of personnel and horses have been injured and are receiving the appropriate medical attention,” it added.

Two of the horses were recaptured by the City of London Police, which polices the Square Mile financial district.

It said officers had contained two animals and that “an army horse box had collected the horses and transported them to veterinary care”.

No details have been released on the injured people or the exact circumstances of their injuries.

A spokesman for the LAS said: “Our first paramedics were on the scene in under a minute.

“The incident is still ongoing and we are working with our emergency services partners.”

Originally published as Bloodied military horses run rampage through the streets of London, injuring four