BREAKING: Five Military Horses Recovered after Bolting through London Streets

The horses broke loose after possibly being spooked by builders moving rubble

Five cavalry horses broke loose this morning during their early morning exercise in Whitehall, colliding with a double-decker tour bus and a people carrier. The incident occurred at around 8.40am during rush hour. Witness accounts also told of one of the horses shattering the windows of a taxi waiting outside the Clermont Hotel.

Four people were injured during the incident, including one of the soldiers thrown from his horse, and one of the horses - a grey - was seen covered in blood whilst galloping in panic through the streets. Emergency services were quick to assist the fallen soldier and treated him at the roadside, while the panicked horses continued through traffic around Tower Bridge and The Strand. Ambulances treated people injured in three separate locations during the event, with two horses receiving veterinary care.

The map below shows the horses' journey through London, and the locations the horses were seen and captured. One of the horses was captured near near Limehouse in east London, at least five miles from the Hyde Park barracks, where the incident took place. All five were recovered by 10.48am.

The Telegraph posted a map showing the horses' journey through London

1. The horses bolt from the Hyde Park Barracks

2. They run through Belgrave Square. Two people are injured

3. The horses continue down Lower Belgrave Street

4. A horse collides with a car on Buckingham Palace Road and the rider is unseated and injured. Passers-by catch the horse.

5. Four horses continue down Buckingham Palace Road. One is captured after hitting a tour bus.

6. Two horses are seen running through traffic on The Strand, one of which is the blood-covered grey.

7. A man is seen lying on the pavement on Fleet Street.

8. A blood-covered horse is spotted on Tower Bridge

9. The same two horses run down Commercial Road near Limehouse, where they are captured.

Despite the flurry of activity on London's streets, this kind of exercise is a daily activity for the horses and it is very unusual for a cavalry horse to be spooked in this way - so unusual in fact, that one witness likened the incident to a 'weird dream'. In a statement, the Westminster Police said the following:

'We’re pleased to confirm that all of the horses have been accounted for. We are continuing to liaise with the Army.'

A spokesperson for the army police has confirmed that all personnel and horses injured are receiving the appropriate medical attention.