Vehicles increasingly used as weapons by terrorists

A van ploughing into pedestrians in a busy area of Barcelona echoes the circumstances of terror strikes that have hit several countries – including Germany, France and the UK.

The potential for large vehicles to inflict mass casualties was laid bare in horrifying fashion in July last year when a lorry drove through crowds gathered to celebrate Bastille Day in Nice, killing 86 people and injuring scores more.

In December 2016, an attacker drove a lorry into a crowded Christmas market in central Berlin, killing 12 people and injuring 56 others.

This year in the UK, vehicles have been used in attacks at Westminster, London Bridge and Finsbury Park.

In the wake of the flurry of incidents in Britain, there were suggestions that van rental could be subject to more stringent checks – while officers appealed for vehicle hire and haulage firms with suspicions about rental attempts to come forward.