Police community support officer stabbed in London

The male Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) was attacked just before 10am close to a branch of Lloyds Bank in Victoria Street, a short walk from Scotland Yard.

The victim, who is in his 30s, was taken to hospital, where his condition is not thought to be life-threatening.

No details were immediately available on what part of the body the officer was stabbed in or what he was doing at the time of the attack.

A spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Police said: "At approximately 9.56am in Victoria Street outside Lloyds Bank, a male Police Community Support Officer, believed to be in his 30s, was stabbed.

"London Ambulance Service attended. He has been taken to a central London hospital suffering from what are believed to be non life-threatening injuries.

"Road closures are currently in place and officers are conducting a search of the local area."

A spokesman added that police had yet to interview the officer about what happened.

Police cordoned off Victoria Street at its junction with Bressenden Place, just yards from Victoria railway station.

One witness, an employee at Next on the opposite side of the road from the bank, said she saw paramedics treating an injured man.

She said: "There was an ambulance there and they quickly took him away."

A bus driver, who was forced to stop nearby, said armed police were quickly on the scene, searching for the attacker.

A green medical bag and what appeared to be yellow plastic sheeting and a flattened cardboard box lay on the ground within the cordon outside Lloyds Bank.

Police also cordoned off a large public square in front of Westminster Cathedral on Victoria Street, almost opposite the bank.

There were at least eight marked police vehicles at the scene, including two police recovery lorries. A spokesman said no-one had been arrested over the stabbing.

It comes the day after the funeral of PC Jonathan Henry, 36, who was stabbed to death last month after answering a 999 call.