Westminster Bridge closed due to police incident
Busy London bridge closed during Monday rush hour
Westminster Bridge was closed after emergency services were called to the bridge in the early hours of the morning.
Pictures from the bridge during the morning rush hour on Monday showed a police cordon in place with ambulances at the scene. The London Ambulance Service confirmed it had been called to reports of an incident on the bridge at 1.57am.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed the incident was mental health-related and said there were no injuries.
According to AA, 12 bus routes were placed on diversion due to the incident. It said the bridge had been closed in both directions at the junction of Westminster Bridge Road due to an “emergency services incident”.
It reopened later in the day.
A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “We were called at 1.57am on 18 August to reports of an incident on Westminster Bridge, SW1.
“We sent resources to the scene, including ambulance crews, incident response officers and paramedics from our hazardous area response team (HART).
“We treated a man at the scene and took him to hospital.”
The closure was first reported at 4.07am.
People trying to get to work on Monday took to social media to report the disruption.
“Westminster Bridge being closed a real pain for this humble commuter,” one wrote, adding they had “attempted to walk” after their bus was diverted but they had to cross Lambeth Bridge instead.
“Great start to the morning. Came out of Westminster Tube to walk over the bridge to get to work,” another said.
“Bridge closed, taped off. One ambulance on the bridge. Police refused to let me [cross] bridge in spite of showing my pass. Long detour over Lambeth. Not a happy bunny.”