"A number of military working horses became loose during a routine exercise this morning. All of the horses have now been recovered and returned to camp," a British army spokesperson said in a statement.
[...]

The London Ambulance Service was called at 08:25am local time to reports of a person being thrown from a horse on Buckingham Palace Road in central London, a spokesperson for the service said.

The horses belong to the Household Cavalry, which acts as the British monarch's official bodyguard and takes part in ceremonial duties. They are garrisoned at Hyde Park barracks, less than a mile away from Buckingham Palace.

A number of prestigious army regiments have stables in the British capital and horses are a regular sight around government buildings on Whitehall, Buckingham Palace, The Mall and in nearby Hyde Park.

Five people, including a soldier who was riding on of the horses, were injured in three separate incidents during the six-mile rampage on Wednesday that lasted two hours.

Four people were hospitalised. It is understood that three of them are soldiers who have not sustained life-threatening injuries.

The Household Cavalry soldier was left 'screaming in pain' after he was thrown from his horse when it struck a car by the Clermont Hotel on Buckingham Palace Road, Victoria.

Commuters said they heard the soldier screaming in pain after they saw him fall from his horse when the animal ran into a car.

The horses were spooked during their daily morning exercise on Horse Guards Parade, in Whitehall, at around 8.40am.

One of the horses has also seemingly ran into a double-decker bus, smashing its windscreen, while another reportedly crashed into a black cab.

Emergency services rushed to the help the injured soldier, who was seen being treated on the road.

Bashir Aden, 48, a construction worker, told The Telegraph: 'I saw a soldier falling down into the street after the horse ran into a car. One of my colleagues called the police.

'The man hit the floor hard, he was screaming in pain. You could see blood all over the parked car.'

A silver Mercedes-Benz people carrier was also hit by another horse, with damage to its side and two rear windows broken.

Buckingham Palace Road was closed after the shocking incident and a cordon was put in place.

A blue tarpaulin tent has been put up around the injured soldier.

The horses ran through the streets of Victoria and got as far east as Aldwych before they were calmed and contained by police on the Highway near Limehouse.

Officers are now waiting for Army horseboxes to take the animals away.

A woman who saw the horse crash into the Mercedes told LBC: 'One of the horses hit the Mercedes van and the rider was on it, fell back on this little middle bit of the road and the other woman lost control of her horse and she managed to grab the railings.

'The horses were injured obviously from the glasses that they had broken. [The injured soldier] was laying there on the ground. He looked like he hurt himself pretty bad. It was terrible.'
The horses were all caught and accounted for by 10.30am, the Met Police said.

The Met Police said: 'We are aware of a number of horses that are currently loose in central London and are working with colleagues, including the Army, to locate them.'

The City of London Police said: 'At around 8.40am, we were called about horses that had became loose and were travelling through the City.

'Our officers have contained two horses on the Highway near Limehouse. We're waiting for an Army horse box to collect the horses and transport them to veterinary care.'

London Ambulance Service said: 'We were called at 8.25am today to reports of a person being thrown from a horse on Buckingham Palace Road, SW1W.

'We sent resources to the scene including ambulance crews, a paramedic in a fast response car, and an incident response officer.

'Our first paramedic was on the scene in five minutes.

'The incident is still ongoing and we are working with our emergency services partners.'

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