At least four people have been taken to hospital with injuries after some of the domestic cavalry’s horses broke loose during a “routine exercise” on Wednesday.

The animals, kept at Hyde Park Barracks in Knightsbridge, have now been returned and are being treated following the incident.

The Household Cavalry, a corps of the Household Division, is the most senior regiment in the British Army and regularly takes part in major state occasions, such as the coronation of King Charles III and the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.

A British Army spokesman said in a statement: “A number of military horses became loose during a routine exercise this morning. All the horses have now been recovered and returned to camp.

“A number of staff and horses have been injured and are receiving appropriate medical attention.”

London Ambulance Service said BBC Patients with horse-related injuries were treated at Buckingham Palace Road, Belgrave Square and the junction between Chancery Lane and Fleet Street.

City of London Police also shared the video with a note, which read: “At approximately 8.40am, we were called to reports of horses that had become loose and were traveling into the city. Our officers responded to the scene in Limehouse. Two horses have been captured on the nearby highway.

“We are waiting for the Army horse box to collect the horses and take them to veterinary care.”

A cab driver named Robbie remembered seeing one of the horses covered in blood. “I was just outside Buckingham Palace on the Mall and I heard galloping and looked back and there were about three or four horses,” he told BBC Radio London.