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Tourists trapped on London Eye following Westminster terror attack

Tourists have been held inside carriages on the London Eye amid a terror attack in Westminster.

A statement from the tourist attraction, on the opposite side of the Thames to the Houses of Parliament, said it was on lockdown following the attack.

A spokesman said: "At present we are holding all of our guests within our attractions as per tried and tested security procedures.

"The safety and security of our guests and staff will always be our number one priority.”

Christina Lewis, who lives in Camden, described “screams” as the wheel ground to a halt.

The 26-year-old, who was trapped on the attraction for an hour-and-a-half told the Standard: “It was scary at first everybody screamed and we thought the wheel had broken.”

A Spanish tourist, known as Hersio, said on Twitter that he had been on the bridge just 20 minutes before the attack and said 20 minutes afterwards he was at the top of the Eye.

He shared images from the tourist attraction and wrote: “Almost an hour later, raised in the London Eye.”

“I think we're still here for safety, we still do not know when we'll be down.

“We were up and suddenly we see a lot of police and ambulances arrive, everything has happened very fast.”

Tourists were slowly brought down from the Eye and led into the nearby Sea Life Centre, witnesses said.

A huge swathe of Westminster is on lockdown after up to a dozen people were mowed down on Westminster Bridge, a police officer was stabbed outside the Houses of Parliament and a man was shot by police.

Scotland Yard confirmed they were treating the incident as a terrorist attack and London Ambulance Service declared a “major incident” and urged Londoners to avoid calling 999 if possible.

Major incident: London Ambulance declared a 'major incident' (Stefan Rousseau/PA)
Major incident: London Ambulance declared a 'major incident' (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

Onlookers told of scenes of panic with tourists fleeing as gunfire broke out in Westminster around 2.40pm.

A man was seen receiving medical attention outside Westminster Hall after a 4x4 vehicle ploughed into railings nearby.

Police and paramedics treat a wounded man at the scene in the grounds of Parliament (Stefan Rousseau/PA)
Police and paramedics treat a wounded man at the scene in the grounds of Parliament (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

At least four shots were heard after the vehicle ploughed into crowds on the bridge.

The Prime Minister, who had been in PMQs, was in the division lobby when she was alerted and bundled into a car.

Emergency services flocked to Westminster Bridge ()
Emergency services flocked to Westminster Bridge ()

Members of the Met Police's new heavily armed SAS-style counter terrorism unit were deployed to the scene with automatic weapons.

The sitting of the House of Commons was suspended and MPs were told to stay in their chambers.