NEW footage filmed by ITV News has shown a horse running through central London “covered in blood”.
Chaos erupted when seven of the animals got loose, with four soldiers thrown off during an extended exercise in Belgravia on Wednesday.
Ambulance crews treated four people in three separate incidents in the space of 10 minutes as the animals ran amok.
In a post on Twitter/X, ITV News investigations editor Daniel Hewitt shared footage of two horses running through the city.
Nobody was riding either of the horses and one of them appeared to be covered in blood while the other ran into a black cab.
Two horses have just been seen running down Aldwych in central London. One covered in blood. Filmed by @itvnews. pic.twitter.com/0M6A1bot6Q
— Daniel Hewitt (@DanielHewittITV) April 24, 2024
Hewitt said: “Two horses have just been seen running down Aldwych in central London. One covered in blood. Filmed by @itvnews.
“We’ve called the Met Police. One horse ran into a black cab. The other was covered in what looked like blood. Awful.”
The drama began near Buckingham Palace Road where witnesses saw a serviceman thrown from his horse, and one of the loose animals smashing into a taxi waiting outside the Clermont Hotel, shattering the windows.
A horse also crashed into a parked double-decker tour bus, smashing the windscreen, and one collided with a taxi, but no-one was hurt.
Roland, a worker for tour bus company Tootbus, said: "I saw horses come from the bus station in front of Victoria run around in a frenzy.
"People were running around to avoid them - it was total mayhem."
According to an Army spokesperson, the horses have now been recovered.
They 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 London Ambulance Service said it was called at 8.25am to reports of a person being thrown from a horse in Buckingham Palace Road.
READ MORE: Six arrests as 'emergency worker assaulted' at St George's day rally
A spokesperson said: “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. The incident is still ongoing and we are working with our emergency services partners.”
The Met Police has also confirmed that all of the horses have been recovered.
Writing on Twitter/X, 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. An Army horse box collected the horses and transported them to veterinary care."
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here