Police have said the incident in which a car mounted the pavement outside the Natural History Museum in London, sparking fears of a terror attack, was a traffic accident.

A man was dragged from the vehicle after it ploughed into pedestrians outside the museum on Saturday, injuring 11 people.

Moments later security guards, thought to be from the museum, appeared to drag the man from the black Toyota Prius - understood to be a licensed private hire vehicle - and bundle him to the ground.

The incident provoked a significant response from the police as dozens of armed officers flooded the area and a 200-metre cordon was created around the scene.

Witnesses fled in panic as police told them to "keep running" and put businesses around the area on lockdown.

One of those helping apprehend the suspected driver was Pixie Lott's fiancé Oliver Cheshire, who tweeted: "Thanks for messaging everybody. I’m ok. Thank you to the men who helped me pin him down and the police for coming so quickly."