Tourists and workers confused over 'movie scene' discovery

Yoo Na Lee was taking pictures of the cordoned area with her boyfriend.

The 26-year-old Korean, who is in London for a couple of days, had no idea that the scene she was witnessing was real. She said: "We thought a Hollywood star was here and it was a movie scene. We did not know it was the news."

When told what was happening, she said: "We're surprised", later adding: "We're scared."

Winston Beck was evacuated from a cafe in the Leicester Square area and returned to his car, only to find it had been cordoned off by police tape. He said his car was parked in Haymarket, close to the vehicle under investigation, which was covered by a blue tent.

Mr Beck, from Hainault, Essex, was waiting anxiously by the cordon to make sure no traffic wardens placed a parking ticket on his Volvo.

He had come to Leicester Square to take in the sights, adding: "But it's turned into quite a sight."

He said he was in a cafe with his wife when he was told: "You must get out. You have to vacate the place."

As well as being packed with theatres, cinemas and bars, the area also houses many offices.

Office workers Kim Terblanche, 24, Clare O'Neill, 28, and Peter Nicholson, 26, had been waiting to get in to work since early this morning.

Mr Nicholson said he had got information about what was happening from watching television in a nearby branch of Tesco.

They said they had been told everything from the cordon being lifted at around lunchtime to it taking all day.

But Mr Nicholson added that if the cordon was lifted soon they could "still do an afternoon's work".

Officers dressed in blue all-in-one suits later removed the blue tent, which had been standing in Haymarket, from view.

A Mercedes was later loaded on to a white vehicle transportation truck in Haymarket in a painstaking process which lasted for around 15 minutes.