What we know about Hainault sword attack

A critical incident was declared in north-east London on Tuesday morning after reports multiple people had been stabbed.

Footage captured by witnesses quickly began to emerge of a man being pursued by police carrying a sword.

A 36-year-old man is in police custody and police say the incident is over.

There is still a lot we don't about this attack but we've pulled together all available detail we currently have.

This incident occurred in Hainault, a suburban area in Ilford, which is part of the London Borough of Redbridge. Hainault is part of Greater London but is around 14 miles from the centre of the capital.

We know that shortly before 07:00 BST on Tuesday morning, police received reports of a car being driven into a house in Thurlow Gardens, a residential street over the road from the town's Underground rail station.

Footage has also been shared of the suspect in Laing Close, another residential street just 100m away.

It is unclear how much time passed between the attack beginning and the suspect being arrested but the incident appears to have been over in around two hours.

By 09:00 BST, the local police force was already reporting a man had been arrested.

So far, police have provided very little information about how events unfolded but witnesses paint an image of a chaotic scene in which multiple people were injured.

One witness told PA news agency he heard shrieking and police officers confronting the suspect.

He continued: "I looked out the back window because the noise was coming from back there, I saw a bloke dressed in yellow jumping over some fences... then he went down an alley like he was going back onto the street again.

"I saw a policeman and policewoman - normal coppers with the short-sleeved shirts - who chased after him and they were shouting for him to put it down."

Manpreet Singh told the BBC he saw a "group of people, five or six of them, trying to fight off a guy - he had a sword in his hand".

He told Radio 5 Live he saw the man running towards the station and entering a road opposite, before trying to get into a house.

Mr Singh said the suspect was trying to fight police officers off and was Tasered.

In one video, the suspect can be seen looking in houses in Laing Close, near to where a motionless person was also seen lying in the road.

One member of the public appears to have had a lucky escape. In one piece of video, they are very briefly seen emerging from a house metres away from the attacker, but they disappear out of view before they are spotted.

It is unclear if all five victims were attacked in Laing Close and Thurlow Garden or whether there were further injuries nearby.

London Ambulance Service said it has taken five people to hospital for treatment.

The Met Police said two officers are among the injured, adding "we understand the suspect went on to attack others members of the public".

At the moment, we don't know how many people were injured in the initial incident at Thurlow Gardens.

It is not known yet how seriously injured the five people are, and at time of writing there has been no official confirmation of any deaths.

At this stage, we know very little about the 36-year-old man suspected of involvement in this incident.

Videos captured by members of the public show a man in his 20s or 30s carrying what appears to be a Samurai-style sword.

In one video, he can be heard shouting in English, though the audio is not clear enough to judge with any certainty what he is saying.

Further details about his identity will not be officially confirmed unless he is charged with a crime.

No. The Met Police said within hours of the incident that it "does not appear to be terror-related".

Police have also said they are not looking for any more suspects and there is no ongoing risk to the public.

As of mid-morning on Tuesday, there is still a large police presence in the area.