South Kensington’s two other major museums have tweeted following the incident near the Natural History Museum (NHM) after a car ploughed into pedestrians, injuring several people.

The Science Museum and Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum remain open on Saturday (October 7) afternoon, despite the incident which happened on Exhibition Road shortly after 2.20pm.

The Science Museum said it is still open, but on the advice of police is not letting in additional visitors, while the V&A said its entrances on Exhibition Road are closed.

NHM tweeted earlier in the day that staff are working with police.

A man has been detained by The Met following the incident, which has left several people injured.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: “Officers are on scene and the London Ambulance Service have been called.

Damaged street map at scene of Natural History Museum incident

“A man has been detained at the scene.

“Inquiries to establish the circumstances and motive are under way.”

A Natural History spokesman said: “A vehicle has collided with pedestrians near the Natural History Museum entrance at Exhibition Road.

“The museum’s visitors and staff are always our first priority.

The spokesman added: "We are working with emergency services to assess the incident and we are doing all we can."

The area is regarded as the capital's museum district, and is popular among tourists in London.

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