There was a loud bang and a lot of smoke in the street John Jenkins, witness

The taxi driver was injured in an explosion at the junction of Foubert's Place and Kingly Street. A boilerman is also reported to have been trapped in the basement of a shop in Duke Street after a bomb exploded. He was rescued by police.

The reception manager of the Miranda Club heard a bomb go off in Kingly Street.

John Jenkins, said: "There was a loud bang and a lot of smoke in the street. I was told a bomb had gone off in a letter box."

Another witness told the BBC: "We heard a very loud explosion and some old lady screamed her head off over the back there. That was all we heard, we tumbled out of bed and came down to see what it was all about."

Officers cleared the area as soon as the explosions began.

Much of Oxford Street has remained closed for most of the day while searches continue for more devices.

The bombings are a surprise - the first in central London for more than a year.

In November 1975 a bomb planted by the IRA exploded in a restaurant killing two people and injuring more than 20.

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