Penge: Man in hospital after falling ill following arrest

A man arrested on suspicion of assaulting police in south-east London has been taken to hospital in a serious condition after claiming he ingested drugs, the Metropolitan Police has said.

Officers were called to reports of a group of shoplifters in Penge High Street at 18:30 BST and arrested one man who they pursued on foot.

While taking the man to hospital, the Met said two officers in the police van had become unwell and so they stopped the vehicle in Hayes Lane, Bromley, where ambulance and fire crews were called over a possible chemical exposure.

The incident has been “stood down” and the officers were taken to hospital “as a precaution”, a Met spokesperson said.