A young girl who was stabbed in central London will require further hospital treatment, according to police.

The double stabbing was confirmed by MPS Westminster on X (formerly known as Twitter) in Leicester Square at around midday (August 12).

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.

London Ambulance Service was first called at around 11.36am.

They sent an ambulance crew, an advanced paramedic and an incident response officer as well as a tactical response unit.

There is no suggestion that the incident is terror-related, say police.

A man has been arrested in connection with the incident and taken into police custody where he remains.

Police believe there are no outstanding suspects.

A police cordon has been put in place surrounding the double doors of the TWG Tea shop on Leicester Square.

The 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 at the scene.

A security guard said he “jumped on” and took a knife from a man who stabbed a child in Leicester Square.

The 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.”

He 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.

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.”

MPS Westminster (@MPSWestminster) tweeted: “Officers are at the scene of a stabbing in Leicester Square.

“A man has been arrested & is in custody. We don't believe there are any outstanding suspects.

“Two victims, an 11-yr-old girl & a 34-yr-old woman, have been taken to hospital & we await an update on their condition.”