A red London bus has been left hanging over the River Thames after an accident involving a car on Putney Bridge.

The vehicle was turning south-bound and about to begin crossing the river in south-west London when it mounted the pavement and slammed through a stone barrier, leaving the front of the bus clearly visible from the water below.

Passengers on the single-decker evacuated onto the bridge via the emergency rear right-hand-side door, but the driver of the number 424 bus had to be removed from the vehicle by the London Fire Brigade.

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He and the woman driving the car involved in the accident were treated by London Ambulance Staff for minor injuries, as was another woman according to the Evening Standard.

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Pictures emerged on Twitter from the accident showing the front of the bus hanging partly over the edge of the bridge with the rest on the pavement and its rear on the road.

Concerns were sufficient for the Met's Marine Policing Unit to be scrambled to the scene, "re a bus striking the bridge walls". It later tweeted an image of its view from the river.

Putney Bridge has now been closed to all vehicles except buses and taxis and there are also other road closures in the area.

Police said that inquiries were continuing into the incident, which happened at around 10.30am today.