Witnesses have described how they “ran like hell” after hearing gunshots following a knife attack on London Bridge.

Several people have been injured in the stabbing, which police are treating as terror-related.

A man was shot by officers on the bridge following the attack. Police say a suspect has been detained.

Witness Jackie Bensfield, 32, said she asked to be let off a bus on the bridge after hearing “five or six” gunshots.

The nurse departed the bus and then “ran like hell” to escape the shots.

Another witness Amanda Hunter, who was also on a bus across the bridge when she heard shots fired, said: “(The bus) all of a sudden stopped and there was commotion and I looked out the window and I just saw these three police officers going over to a man.”

She told the BBC: “It seemed like there was something in his hand, I’m not 100% sure, but then one of the police officers shot him.”

Footage on social media appeared to show armed officers surrounding a person on the ground before discharging a weapon, while a member of the public appears to remove a large knife from the scene.

There are reports that bystanders had restrained a suspected knife attacker before police arrived.

Witness Craig Heathcote told Sky News: “I was walking across the bridge. I reached the north side and someone came running towards me saying ‘get out of the way, someone’s got a knife’.

“I could then see on the other side of the bridge a big scuffle of people trying to get someone to the ground.

“I just immediately called 999. It was quite hard because cars were passing in the way of what was happening.

“A police car appeared from the bridge and two police officers got out and started taking over. There was lots of shouting and them trying to restrain him or get people out of the way before they fired the guns.”

Another witness Reem Yousef said: “I was below the bridge, about 30 metres to one side of it. I heard shouting. I looked up and it appeared to be potentially four or five people – it looked like it was a fight.

“Then I heard someone shouting ‘get back, get back’.

“People started running across the bridge and then I heard two gunshots and at that point obviously I ran.”

Connor Allen, who was in his van on the bridge when it was evacuated, said: “Everyone just started running, you heard these pops and that was it. We just got out the van and started running.”

An unnamed witness told Sky News: “We heard from our office some shots being fired, or what sounded like shots. We looked out of the window and suddenly the entire bridge was sealed.

“The police were there and they ended up carrying what looked like injured people off the bus.”

Another witness wrote on Twitter: “I’m in Borough Market after shots have been heard on London Bridge. The bridge is cordoned off. The market has been evacuated.

She later posted: “Tourists are screaming, shop owners urged into their shops.”

Joe, who was held in his office following the incident, told Sky News: “We saw loads of police cars heading towards the bridge. We saw a man on the ground and police pointing guns at him. We later saw a lady being carried away from the scene.”

He said there was a “pretty tense” atmosphere.

He said more than 10 police cars were at the scene and officers were “running around with guns getting every one away from the bridge”.

An onlooker called Zack said police officers almost knocked him over as they ran towards the incident.

“Then loads of cars with sirens all rushed past me at full speed,” he said.

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