A young man's throat was slit in front of horrified shoppers on a busy west London street, it has been claimed.

Police descended on Southall Broadway at 12.20pm on Friday after reports a stabbing had taken place.

The London Air Ambulance also landed nearby and a boy, thought to be in his late teens was rushed to hospital.

One shopper, who asked not to be named, told the Standard a crowd of men in Muslim attire rushed to help the stricken man as he lay on the floor.

She said: “There was a bit of a commotion and then this man just collapsed in the street.

“Within seconds an ambulance and about four police vans arrived at the scene. They started giving him first aid around his neck.

“It must have been within 30 seconds or so a helicopter arrived and two or three police cans started going around the side streets.”

“The man was outside walking and somebody came and randomly stabbed him in the side of his back and slit his throat," she said.

She said: “People were just completely shocked and some just started taking cover in the shops thinking it might be another terror attack.”

A large swathe of the busy street was cordoned off in both directions on Friday afternoon as the stabbing was investigated.​

Police later confirmed the man's injuries were non-life-threatening and there have been no arrests so far.

A spokesman for the Met Police said there was no indication at this stage the incident was terror-related.

He said: “Police were called Southall Broadway, Ealing, at approximately 12.20pm on 16 June to reports of a stabbing.

“Officers, London Ambulance Service and London Air Ambulance attended the scene. A male, aged in his late teens, was taken to a west London hospital.”