Five Household Cavalry horses, including one soaked with blood, ran loose in central London after they were ‘spooked by the noise of builders moving concrete’.
Five people, including three soldiers riding on the horses, were injured in three separate incidents during the six-mile rampage on Wednesday that lasted two hours.
This morning, six soldiers and seven horses from the Life Guards were on an extended Watering Order, an exercise to keep up the fitness of animals not involved in the public-facing King’s Life Guard duties.
As they passed through Wilton Crescent in Belgravia at 8.40am, it is believed builders were using a travelator with concrete when some of the concrete came off and hit the floor, causing a noise.
This is thought to have caused the horses to spook. Five bolted and two remained in place. Four soldiers were unseated and three were injured and taken to hospital. None are in a life-threatening condition.
However, onlookers said one of the Household Cavalry soldiers was left ‘screaming in pain’ after he was thrown from his horse when it struck a car by the Clermont Hotel on Buckingham Palace Road, Victoria.
The horses rampaged for six miles before they were finally caught in Limehouse, east London. The injured horses saw a vet and all of the animals are now back at the Army’s camp.
This blood-soaked Household Cavalry horse was one of five that bolted during a morning exercise today (pictured between Tower Bridge and the Limehouse tunnel after a six-mile rampage)
The horse was seen galloping through the streets of London in terrifying scenes on Wednesday morning
Five Household Cavalry horses ran loose in central London after throwing their military riders
The horses bolted and went on a six-mile rampage through central London on Wednesday
It is understood that three soldiers were injured after the horses spooked and smashed into cars and a bus
Rubble being moved from a building on Wilton Crescent Wilton Crescent, a street in the Belgravia area, where builders using a travelator with concrete are believed to have spooked the horses
Is is believed that the five horses were spooked when some cement was dropped by the travelator onto the ground
MailOnline discovered one of the animal’s horseshoes that was thrown off when they were on Fleet Street
The horses were pursued by a police car before they were finally caught by officers on the Highway near Limehouse
The distressed animals are now waiting to be picked up by the Army
Other horses were caught in Wapping (pictured), in east London, on Wednesday
One of the horses has also seemingly ran into a double-decker bus, smashing its windscreen
Blood smeared on the road at the scene where a horse collided with a bus
One of the horses has also seemingly ran into a double-decker bus, smashing its windscreen, while another reportedly crashed into a black cab.
Emergency services rushed to the help the injured soldier, who was seen being treated on the road.
Construction worker Adejo Are said he saw one of the horses crash into the front of a Big Bus as it fled down Buckingham Palace Road.
‘The were running down the street at a very high speed. It was very scary,’ he said.
‘It’s rare to see horses stampeding down the street like that.
‘I heard a big bang from further down the road as the horse ran into the bus. Two others then also hit it and fell to the ground before getting up and running off.
‘The first one just stood there like it was stunned and turned around and then back again.
‘A man from the street came over and guided it out of the road and calmed it down. I was very impressed because he wasn’t in any uniform. He just knew how to deal with the horse.
‘The front of the bus was completely shattered from the impact.’
Bashir Aden, 48, a construction worker, told The Telegraph: ‘I saw a soldier falling down into the street after the horse ran into a car. One of my colleagues called the police.
Buckingham Palace Road was closed after the shocking incident and a cordon was put in place
Two of the horses were seen galloping through the streets of London covered in blood
Londoners were seen avoiding one of the horses as it ran along the pavement. One horse reportedly ran into a black cab
It is unclear whose blood has covered the horses
‘The man hit the floor hard, he was screaming in pain.
‘You could see blood all over the parked car.’
A silver Mercedes-Benz people carrier was also hit by another horse, with damage to its side and two rear windows broken.
The Mercedes taxi driver spoke of his ‘shock’ after a loose Household Cavalry horse smashed into his car near Buckingham Palace.
One of the horses smashed into his people carrier, shattering his windows and leaving deep dents in his car.
There were also specks of blood splattered across the side.
The driver, called Farez, revealed how he was completely unaware of the horses until one slammed into his car.
He had been waiting for a passenger when the horse struck his car.
He told LBC: ‘I was just sitting in the car to pick up my passenger, but on the other side there was a [horse] but I didn’t see.’
‘When the horse hit my car then I saw, it was like a smash.’
Recalling how bystanders came over to the car to check on his welfare, Farez added: ‘I was ok, but it [the car] is damaged.
The serviceman was treated by paramedics on the road after the incident
A blue tarpaulin tent was put up around the injured soldier
Emergency services rushed to the scene after shocking reports of the rampaging horses
Then we stopped all the traffic and the one military guy fell down.’
He added: ‘I saw about three, four horses. The think the white horse hit my car.’
Another man was trampled by one of the horses as he cycled to work along Fleet Street.
Onlookers say they saw two horses – one black and one white – charging down the street towards Ludgate at around 8.30am.
The man, described as in his late 30s to early 40s, was knocked off his bike by the white horse outside of the International Arbitration Centre (IAC) in Fleet Street.
The horse continued galloping down the street after the collision, shedding a horseshoe further down the busy road.
Mark Camps, who works at the IAC, said he saw the cyclist lying on the street in front of the building.
‘He was conscious and lying flat on his back in the road, but wasn’t able to speak,’ he explained.
‘Some passersby ran over to help him and carried him to the pavement. He still had his helmet on, luckily.
‘The ambulance eventually came around 9am and were able to move him.’
Police were reportedly in hot pursuit of the escaped horses, flying down the street five minutes behind the horses.
A shopkeeper on Fleet Street said she heard the noise of the horses first as they galloped down the road at high speed, before hearing a commotion quickly followed by sirens.
‘There are usually police on horses around here,’ she said. ‘But this was clearly very different just from the sound. And then I saw the horses charge past, one covered in blood.
‘I texted my friend immediately after at 8:39am.’
Buckingham Palace Road was closed after the shocking incident and a cordon was put in place.
A blue tarpaulin tent was put up around the injured soldier.
The horses ran through the streets of Victoria and got as far east as Aldwych before they were calmed and contained by police on the Highway near Limehouse.
Officers are now waiting for Army horseboxes to take the animals away.
A woman who saw the horse crash into the Mercedes told LBC: ‘One of the horses hit the Mercedes van and the rider was on it, fell back on this little middle bit of the road and the other woman lost control of her horse and she managed to grab the railings.
‘The horses were injured obviously from the glasses that they had broken. [The injured soldier] was laying there on the ground. He looked like he hurt himself pretty bad. It was terrible.’
Startled taxi driver, Farez (pcit revealed he was shocked when a horse collided with his car, lifting it up into the air on one side
One of the horses smashed into a people carrier, shattering his windows and leaving deep dents with specks of blood splattered across the side
The taxi-driver’s Mercedes people carrier was left with two obliterated rear windows, deep dents, as well as blood smeared on the side
Buckingham Palace Road was closed following the startling incident (pictured: A crumpled police accident sign at the scene)
Passersby were shocked to see the incident unfold
The horses were running at some pace after the became spooked while exercising
Members of the public were seen comforting one of the horses after it ran loose. Blood was seen on the road
This horse was caught in Limehouse and had visible and bloodied injuries
The horses were all caught and accounted for by 10.30am, the Met Police said.
An Army Spokesperson said: ‘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.’
The Met Police said: ‘We are aware of a number of horses that are currently loose in central London and are working with colleagues, including the Army, to locate them.’
The City of London Police said: ‘At around 8.40am, we were called about horses that had became loose and were travelling through the City.
‘Our officers have contained two horses on the Highway near Limehouse. We’re waiting for an Army horse box to collect the horses and transport them to veterinary care.’
London Ambulance Service said: ‘We were called at 8.25am today to reports of a person being thrown from a horse on Buckingham Palace Road, SW1W.
‘We sent resources to the scene including ambulance crews, a paramedic in a fast response car, and an incident response officer.
‘Our first paramedic was on the scene in five minutes.’
