A tourist bus has crashed into a news stand in Trafalgar Square, bringing part of one of central London’s busiest junctions to a standstill this afternoon. The bus, operated by Golden Tours, remained at the scene more than four hours after the collision, with a police cordon still in place and emergency crews working around it.
The crash happened at around 12.30pm today (Wednesday 22 October) on Spring Gardens, on the south side of the square near Charing Cross station. The bus hit street furniture and a news stand, which was greatly damaged in the collision.
This is a developing story. Live updates from the scene are below.
LIVE
The London Fire Brigade confirmed it was called to the scene at 12.32pm. A spokesperson said: “Firefighters are in attendance at a road traffic collision on Spring Gardens in Charing Cross. One tourist bus was in collision with street furniture. The Brigade was called at 1232. Two fire engines and a Fire Rescue Unit from Euston, Paddington and Chelsea fire stations are attending the scene.”
By mid-afternoon the bus still had not been moved. Workers at the scene were seen getting belongings and equipment out from underneath the vehicle before it could be towed away.
A spokesperson for Golden Tours said: “We are aware of the incident involving one of our buses near Trafalgar Square and are currently investigating the circumstances surrounding what happened. The wellbeing and safety of our passengers, staff and members of the public are always our highest priority.”
It is believed no one was injured in the crash. The London Ambulance Service said it did not have to attend.
Advice for drivers
Drivers are advised to avoid Spring Gardens and the Trafalgar Square area for the rest of the afternoon while the cordon remains in place and the vehicle is recovered. Buses and traffic are being diverted around the blockage, and delays are building on surrounding routes including the Strand, Pall Mall and Whitehall.
Trafalgar Square is one of the capital’s most tightly constrained traffic junctions: a single blocked lane can send queues back across several approaches. If you need to get across central London this afternoon, consider travelling via the Embankment, where there is more room for diverted traffic, or using the Tube — Charing Cross, Embankment and Leicester Square stations are all within a short walk of the square.
What a Fire Rescue Unit does at a crash
The presence of a Fire Rescue Unit alongside two fire engines indicates crews were prepared for a technical rescue — these specialist teams carry heavy lifting and cutting equipment used when people are trapped in or under vehicles. In this case the units stood by while the scene was made safe, with no one reported injured.
Firefighters have worked alongside police at the cordon throughout the afternoon. The cause of the crash has not yet been established, and Golden Tours says its investigation is ongoing.
Trafalgar Square is one of the busiest stops in London’s sightseeing trade. Open-top and coach tour operators run services through the square throughout the day, picking up and setting down near Charing Cross and the Strand — and the surrounding streets are a constant mix of tourist coaches, black cabs, buses and delivery vehicles. Any incident here tends to draw a crowd quickly, and police cordons are often kept up until recovery teams are fully ready, as vehicles this size cannot be moved in a hurry through narrow central London streets.
This is the second major road-closure incident in London today. Earlier, a crash closed Selhurst Road in Thornton Heath, while a separate collision shut London Road in Mitcham in both directions. A fire alert at Stratford International also disrupted DLR services this afternoon.
File photo: Trafalgar Square fountain and the National Gallery. Photo: Mike Peel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
