Five jihadi terrorists shouting “this is for Allah” have reportedly killed seven people and left dozens more injured in a horrific rampage around two locations in central London.
Three of attackers with 12-inch hunting knives reportedly stabbed pedestrians, after mowing down up to 20 people with a white van on London Bridge.
The men, described as being “of Mediterranean origin”, reportedly jumped out of the van and began “randomly stabbing people” along Borough High Street in central London at 10pm.
“Rapid gunfire” was heard in the London Bridge area as armed police are thought to have shot shot dead two of the men, with a search underway for the third man.
One woman said she saw three people with what appeared to be their throats cut on London Bridge amid reports that at least seven people have been stabbed, leaving bodies “strewn” on the road in central London.
One person has been killed at London Bridge – and one of the casualties is reportedly a police officer.
Armed police have also responded to reports of stabbings in nearby Borough Market and shots have been fired.
Police have responded to another incident in Vauxhall in south London, telling people “you must run, hide and tell”, Scotland Yard said.
A man has been arrested, as Sky News reported live from Borough High Street.
There are also unconfirmed reports of gunfire on Southwark Street.
50 armed police have reportedly entered Monument station with police dogs and bystanders have been told to run. Bank and Monument tube stations have been closed.
Police are advising people who live within the London Bridge cordon to stay somewhere else tonight if they can.
Terrifying footage from the scene shows police officers shouting: “Clear the scene now!” as panicked pedestrians flee. London Ambulance said multiple resources were attending the area.
The bridge is in lock down and the area around it is closed with bus routes being diverted, as armed police and a bomb squad attend the scene and boats search the water.
The attacks in the streets of London come just days after armed troops were pulled off the streets of Britain.
Thousands of soldiers were deployed by Theresa May following the bombing at Manchester arena as she raised the UK threat level from “severe” to “critical”.
Ben was 15 metres away near Borough Market when he saw a man with a knife stabbing people in the street.
He said: “I was across the road from Borough market. We saw people running away and then shouting. I saw a man in red with quite a large blade stabbing a man about three times fairly calmly.
“I was across the road about 15 metres away. He was dark-skinned and had a red tracksuit on.”
Police are treating injured people and carrying them away at the end Thrale Street. Members of the public were told by police to “run as fast as they could” westbound.
Others said they had been told to “run” by armed officers or escorted under guard through empty streets in groups.
One eyewitness who wished to remain anonymous told MailOnline: “I was in Arabica restaurant with a friend in borough market. Suddenly there was commotion and people were screaming.
“Security guards were yelling at people to get back from the window. About 50 people piled into the restaurant.
“Then I heard two separate bursts of gunfire and people rushed into the restaurant kitchens to hide. It was utter chaos.
“Some people tried to leave the kitchens via the back door but some of us tried to keep people calm. We hid for 45minutes and then were evacuated from the market by armed police.”
Several police officers have stormed a pub opposite the bridge and told people to ‘get down’ and sit on the floor.
A cab driver told LBC that three men jumped out of the van.
He said: “They just had these long blades, about 12 inches long. They just went randomly along Borough High Street stabbing people. A young girl got stabbed in the chest, she was laying there – it’s so sad.
“I thought, ‘I’m gonna try and hit him, I’m gonna try and knock him down’. I spun the cab round, I was about to ram one of them, but he side-stepped and three police officers came running towards them with their batons drawn.
“I was shouting at everybody, just get away from the area, stay back, just run the other way. There were a good few hundred people out there.”
“He’s veered across the road towards the right hand of where Southwark Cathedral is and rammed it where the steps are. He just rammed it towards them, wedged it in between the lamppost and the steps and so he’s hit people there.
“They’ve jumped out of the van and started stabbing people randomly. There was a scattering of people.”
Holly Jones, a BBC reporter at the bridge when the incident happened, said a van had swerved off the road into a crowd of pedestrians.
“A white van driver came speeding – probably about 50mph – veered of the road into the crowds of people who were walking along the pavement,” she told BBC News.
“He swerved right round me and then hit about five or six people. He hit about two people in front of me and then three behind.”
Jones later reported seeing a man being arrested by police. She said he was handcuffed and had his shirt off.
The Metropolitan Police posted on Twitter: “We are dealing with an incident on London Bridge, when we have more information we will update this twitter feed.”
Scotland Yard said officers were at the scene and they would update with further information.
Terrified pedestrians fleeing one of scenes of the attack 