Man drives his car into police station

Acar crashed into a police station in north London yesterday evening. Scotland Yard said Edmonton Police Station was evacuated after the vehicle struck the building shortly before 7pm.

Video posted on social media appears to show the front of the car embedded in an illuminated entrance to the building on Fore Street.

Police said a man has been arrested in connection with the incident.

The vehicle remained at the scene while being examined by specialist officers, the Metropolitan Police added.

No injuries have been reported, but the London Ambulance Service and fire brigade attended the scene. A large police cordon was put in place last night.

Peter Allimadi, 30, from Edmonton, who works in Whitehall, told the PA news agency he heard “shouting, a loud crash and sirens from everywhere”.

He said: “I came out of the Lidl to see what the commotion was about.

“Police were screaming instructions to citizens to back away, and there were some scared shoppers, commuters and parents running from the scene.”

Video footage captured from witnesses outside the police station showed a man pouring liquid into the road before setting it alight.

The man was then tackled to the floor by police who had arrived at the scene.

Officers were heard to shout “get back” before dousing the flames in the road.

Store manager Ogur Mazlum, 34, works nearby and witnessed the moment the car crashed into the police station.

Speaking on behalf of Mr Mazlum, who speaks limited English, his wife Serife Mazlum, 32, told PA: “He literally just walked out (of his shop) to just call me and see if everything’s OK at home.

“Then he said I have to shut the phone quickly... that was when the car crashed into the front of the police station.”

Mrs Mazlum said her husband saw that the car had crashed through an exterior glass entrance to the station and a man was unable to enter through a second barrier despite attempts.

“He was insisting on trying to get inside, but the glass door wouldn’ t break any more so he couldn’t get any closer,” she added.

“Then he casually got out of the car with a tank of petrol.

“He poured it down from the car into the middle of the road and then he just set it on fire.”

Mrs Mazlum added that “luckily ” the man had “missed a spot” and the flaming petrol did not reach traffic which had stopped on the road nearby.

INCIDENT: A man was arrested after a car crashed into Edmonton Police Station and liquid was set alight in the road.