Four injured after blood-covered cavalry horses bolt in Central London

Four people have been injured after several Household Cavalry horses escaped and bolted through Central London this morning.

At least one soldier was hurt after a spooked horse smashed into cars outside the Clermont Hotel in Buckingham Palace Road, Victoria, at around 8.30am. 

The animals bolted and threw their riders while they were leaving Hyde Park Barracks on their daily morning exercise.

All the horses have now been recovered. 

A spokeswoman from the London Ambulance Service said: “We responded to several calls regarding an incident with horses on the loose in central London this morning.

“We sent multiple resources to the three scenes including ambulance crews, paramedics in response cars, and an incident response officer.

“We treated four patients in total and took them all to hospital and have now been stood down.”

Footage circulating on social media shows a taxi and a double decker bus with smashed windscreens as well as two horses – one covered in blood – bolting through the main roads of London.

Pictures also show an injured man lying on the floor in Fleet Street.

Assistant Commissioner Keeley Foster, who helped co-ordinate the London Fire Brigade’s (LFB) response, said: “Crews and officers were mobilised to the scenes of two collisions, including one near Victoria railway station, where a horse was involved in a collision with a taxi. 

“We also assisted and worked closely with partners after a person fell from a horse in Belgrave Square.

“Due to reports that several horses were unaccounted for, the Brigade’s response for large animal rescues was alerted, along with the drone team and National Interagency Liaison Officers to assist in the search and the horses were quickly accounted for.”

Pictured top: A black horse collides with a London taxi after bolting near Aldwych, central London (Picture: Jordan Pettitt/PA Images)