Moment members of public step in to calm horse charging through London

This is the moment members of the public stepped in to calm down one of five military horses that caused “total mayhem” in London by charging through the streets when it was spooked by noise.

A group of seven horses and six soldiers from the Household Cavalry were on an extended exercise in Belgravia, central London, on Wednesday when four service personnel were thrown from their horses and five of the animals got loose, smashing into vehicles and causing a number of injuries. It is believed the animals were alarmed when some concrete being moved by builders hit the ground.

On Wednesday morning, two of the horses were said to be in a serious condition.

Footage taken by a Brazilian tourist shows people calming one of the escaped horses down. In the clip, the horse can be seen standing still in the middle of the road and was surrounded by a group of people who are stroking the horse gently, as one person held on to its muzzle. Beside them a double decker tourist bus can be seen with a smashed windscreen that one of the horses ran into.

The end of the clip shows blood on the floor underneath the animal, though it is not clear whether the blood is from the horse or from one of the four people injured during the incident.

A second video shows a person lying on the ground in the middle of the road as people gather round them to shield them from traffic approaching in both directions as a paramedic attends to the injuries. A car is also seen with a large dent on its side and smashed windows, with broken glass covering the floor beside it.

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A second horse can be seen being calmed by people as it stands next to a bus stop.

Ambulance crews treated four people in three separate incidents in Buckingham Palace Road, Belgrave Square, and at the junction of Chancery Lane and Fleet Street, in the space of just 10 minutes. It is understood that three soldiers were assessed in hospital for their injuries, which were not thought to be serious.

The drama had begun near Buckingham Palace Road where witnesses saw a serviceman thrown from his horse, and one of the loose animals crashed into a taxi waiting outside the Clermont Hotel, shattering the windows. A management consultant from south London who saw two of the horses galloping near Aldwych said the sight was “gruesome” and “like a weird dream”. The pair were captured on the Highway near Limehouse, more than five miles from where they first bolted.

An Army spokesman 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.”