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London police dismiss terror fears after car crash leaves 11 pedestrians injured

London police treated the incident as a potential terror attack until ruling it a traffic accident.

London police treated the incident as a potential terror attack until ruling it a traffic accident. Photo: AAP

Eleven people were injured when a car crashed into pedestrians near London’s Natural History Museum, in one of the capital’s busiest tourist areas, but police doused concerns it was a terrorist attack, saying it was a road traffic incident.

Police said it was believed the car had mounted the pavement outside the popular attraction in west London on Saturday and hit a number of pedestrians.

Officers arrested a man at the scene and he was being questioned.

Britain has suffered five terror attacks so far this year, three of which involved vehicles, and the incident in an area packed with tourists at the weekend prompted immediate concerns that the collision was a deliberate act.

“The incident is a road traffic investigation and not a terrorist-related incident,” a police statement said.

London’s ambulance service said they had treated 11 people, mostly for head and leg injuries, with nine taken to hospital. Police said none of the injuries were life-threatening or life-changing.

Unverified footage from the scene showed a man being pinned to the ground near a crashed black Toyota car.

Britain is on its second highest security alert level, meaning an attack by militants is considered highly likely.

In March, a man drove a car into pedestrians on London’s Westminster Bridge killing four before stabbing a police officer to death in the grounds of parliament.

Three Islamist militants drove into people on London Bridge in June before stabbing people at nearby restaurants and bars, killing eight.

The same month, a van driven into worshippers near a mosque in north London left one man dead.

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