A tourist has described there being "blood all over the floor" after a packed tour bus had its roof ripped off when it hit a tree in Bloomsbury, central London, today.

Joseph Whelan, from Canada, was on the bus with his wife and two children when the double-decker bus hit an overhanging branch in Woburn Place at around 1.10pm.

He said: "It was like a bomb going off," describing the immediate aftermath as "total chaos".

Mr Whelan was among a group of Canadians in the UK for a wedding that took place on Saturday.

The bride was also on the bus and had been taken to hospital.

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Photo by @chromanris

The impact of the crash tore the entire bus roof and left it dangling from the upper deck on to the road.

Those on the top floor helped patch up the injured with makeshift bandages, and firefighters led stunned passengers to safety.

A large branch was in the road afterwards, along with debris and shattered windows from the bus.

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Four people were taken to hospital but did not suffer life-threatening injuries, the Met Police said.

A spokesman for London Fire Brigade added: "We believe around 40 other passengers were uninjured and are being looked after by police and the London Ambulance Service in a nearby building."

Roads around the site of the accident have been closed, including Tavistock Square.

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Michelle Bavage was on a bus coming in the opposite direction when the incident happened.

She said on Twitter: "I saw roof hanging off bus and front smashed.

"Just the roof hanging off and tree in road. Was on bus going opposite direction. Roof was full of people."

The bus was operated by Golden Tours bus company.