News, views and top stories in your inbox. Don't miss our must-read newsletter Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Six people including three children have been hurt after a car crashed into a crowd gathering for Eid prayers in Newcastle.

Two children are in intensive care and another is among the injured as a result of the collision which police said is not believed to be terror-related.

A 42-year-old woman, who had also been celebrating Eid, has been arrested.

Emergency services were dispatched to the site of the collision on Westgate Road, near Westgate Community College, shortly after 9am this morning.

Hundreds of Muslim worshippers had gathered at the sports centre for Eid prayers to mark the end of Ramadan.

(Image: @MrHarrisAhmed/Twitter) (Image: @MrHarrisAhmed/Twitter)

Assistant Chief Constable of Northumbria Police, Darren Best, said: "At approximately 9.14am we received reports that a car had collided with pedestrians outside of Westgate Sports Centre, in Newcastle City Centre.

"At that time a large number of people were in the area celebrating the religious festival Eid that is held to mark the end of Ramadan.

"What we have established is that a 42-year-old female has been celebrating Eid with her family, she then got into her car and has collided with six people in the crowd.

"We have no information to suggest this is terror-related, however, this is a serious collision with multiple casualties and extensive enquiries are on-going to establish the circumstances around this tragic incident.

(Image: @MrHarrisAhmed/Twitter) (Image: @MrHarrisAhmed/Twitter)

"The six people injured, three of which are children, have been taken to hospital.

"As it currently stands two of the children are now in Paediatric Intensive Care and one adult is in the Trauma High Dependency Unit. The remaining injured are believed to have serious but not life threatening injuries.

"We want to reassure the public that extra officers are on patrol around our communities to answer questions and any concerns they might have.

"We have specially trained family liaison officers working with the families affected to make sure they are constantly supported and informed throughout this difficult time."

(Image: @MrHarrisAhmed/Twitter)

Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now

(Image: @Riskyy_Abz/Twitter) (Image: @Riskyy_Abz/Twitter)

Eyewitnesses told how worshippers screamed with panic 'fearing terrorism' as some people were left "covered in blood".

It is believed one victim was trapped under the car which was reportedly stopped when someone jumped into the car to pull the handbrake

One man said: "We were finishing the prayers and people were standing in a corner.

Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now

"The car was going on and people tried to stop the car. There were many injured people, two seriously."

Asif Anwar added: "It was chaos, everyone was panicking people just don’t know what is going on these days."

“Terrorism is what everyone was thinking straight away.”

(Image: @krisgee84 Follow More/Twitter) (Image: @Riskyy_Abz/Twitter)

Huda Salim told how emergency services lifted the car off the leg of one victim.

She said: "We heard screaming, banging and people were telling us to reverse- at first we thought it was a car on fire."

Umar Nyanzi said the car was brought to a stop when someone pulled the handbrake.

Another eyewitness, known as Dr Afsar, told the BBC: "I was at a car park when I heard screaming so I ran towards the community college just a couple of minutes from me.

"When I went over I saw that there was a very young teenager covered in blood; another very young teenager also looked injured.

"There was a middle-aged man outside the community college with facial injuries and blood all over his face."

While Magdalena Lukasha was near the sports centre with her family at the time of the smash.

(Image: Chroniclelive WS)

She told The Chronicle : “There were lots of children there, people were gathering for prayers for Eid. My husband said he saw the car hit around six or seven people.”

The police helicopter has been scrambled and there are reports of armed police on the scene. Extra officers have been deployed across the city to reassure residents.

In a statement, Newcastle Central Mosque said over 100 worshippers helped police and emergency services as it prayed the injured would make a full recovery.

(Image: Chronicle live)

It said: "Immediately after the Eid prayers when the people were starting to leave the venue, a car collided with pedestrians.

"The injured were immediately attended to by the emergency medical services and the police. All the injured have been taken to the hospital. We pray and hope that all those affected recover soon fully.

"We thank the emergency medical services, the police and over 100 volunteers from the mosque for their quick response to the incident.

"We were able to clear the area promptly ensuring there was no delay in the injured being attended to.

"We urge everyone to please pray for all those affected.

(Image: Chronicle Live WS)

"The police are investigating the incident at the moment and we will give an update as soon as we have more information."

Newcastle City Council leader Nick Forbes said: "I was at an event celebrating Eid this morning when I heard about this terrible accident.

"My heart goes out to all those affected by this, particularly as Eid is supposed to be a day of celebration for the Muslim community.

"I would like to thank the emergency services who did a wonderful job tending to the injured.

"The police are still investigating exactly what happened so I don’t want to make any further comment at this stage until things become clearer."

The crash happened a week after a man allegedly mowed down Muslim worshippers outside Finsbury Park mosque following early morning prayers, which left one man dead.

Darren Osborne, 47, has been charged with terrorism-related murder and attempted murder.