Oxford Street explosion: Man injured after electrical blast in central London

Section of busy street was cordoned off after the incident at 7pm on Thursday

Police and fire crews were sent to the scene (TfL)

A man has been injured by a small power explosion on one of central London's busiest streets, police said.

A section of Oxford Street was cordoned off after the "power network" blast at around 7pm, Scotland Yard said.

Both police and fire crews were sent to the scene, where the man was said to have suffered minor injuries.

Smoke could be seen rising from the busy thoroughfare as concerned shoppers looked on, in footage posted on social media.

Other images showed the pavement apparently blackened by the explosion.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police told The Independent the explosion was not suspicious, but refused to comment further until experts had assessed the situation.

UK Power Networks, which oversees the maintenance of the electrical grid in the south of England, said the fault "occurred on an underground electricity cable affecting the local area".

The body said it did not know when the cordon would be cleared, warning they "may have to dig up the road to carry out repairs".