A security guard said he “jumped on and took a knife" from a man after a child and woman were stabbed in central London today.

Emergency services were called to reports of the stabbing in Leicester Square just after 11.30am.

A police cordon now surrounds the TWG Tea shop's double doors after an 11-year-old girl and a 34-year-old woman were reportedly stabbed.

The security guard, who gave his name as Abdullah, 29, said he had worked in security at the TWG Tea shop for the past “seven to eight months”.

Abdullah said “I heard a scream, at that moment I saw there was one person, roughly (in their) mid-30s or early 30s, and he was like stabbing a kid – I jumped on him, held the hand in which he was (carrying) a knife, and just put him down on the floor and just held him and took the knife away from him.

“Then a couple of more people joined as well, and we just held him until the police came, it took maybe three to four minutes for the police to arrive and then they just took him into custody.”

Abdullah and his colleagues gave first aid to the child before the police joined in, he said.

“I just saw a kid getting stabbed and I just tried to save her. It’s my duty to just save them.”

He added that he did not know if the girl was with family members at the time.

The Metropolitan Police said a man has been arrested.

The police cordon is beside the LEGO store and in front of the M&M store, and families and tourists are still standing in queues for each.

At least six police officers are currently at the scene.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said: “The 11-year-old girl stabbed in Leicester Square will require hospital treatment, but her injuries are not life threatening.

“The 34-year-old woman suffered more minor injuries.

“There is no suggestion that the incident is terror-related.”

A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “We were called at 11.36am on Monday 12 August to reports of a stabbing at Leicester Square.

“We sent resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, an advanced paramedic and an incident response officer. We also dispatched members of our tactical response unit.

“We treated a child and an adult at the scene and took them to a major trauma centre.”