Travel Chaos After London Blasts

People have been told not to travel into London after a series of explosions across the city.

The city's transport network has been effectively paralysed and Met Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair has told Londoners to "stay where you are".

The entire Tube network has been shut, many mainline services into London have been stopped and no buses are running in Zone One.

Swindon station and Brighton station have been closed for security checks.

Eurostar's London to Paris service is still running, but the Heathrow Express has been suspended and the Stansted Express is not running as far as Liverpool Street.

Airlines at Heathrow are operating normally, but some delays are expected.

Police say public transport will be affected for the next few days.

Sir Ian said: "All of London's transport is currently disabled. The safest thing anyone can do is stay where they are."

His comments were echoed by Home Secretary Charles Clarke who said: "I would advise people not to make unnecessary journeys at this stage in order to help the police and emergency services deal with the situation."

At least six explosions, including one on a bus at Tavistock Square, central London, and the rest on the Tube, have brought massive disruption and confusion to the city.

Commuter Angela Davies told BBC News: "I only went a couple of stops on the bus from Crouch End and the driver stopped and shouted at everyone to get off the bus.

"When we got off the bus the driver explained that he'd been told that a bus had been bombed and that all buses had been ordered back to the depo."

Mainline London to Scotland train company GNER said it did not expect its East Coast Main Line services to run as far as London at any time on Thursday.

Other mainline services affected include those into Liverpool Street, Kings Cross, Euston and St Pancras.

Commuter Stevan Bennett was on a train into central London on Thursday morning. He told BBC News: "I got as far as Clapham and then we were told to get off and that no more trains were going into central London.

"After half an hour we were told we could get onto a train into Waterloo but now that's stopped and is heading back out of London. I heard someone saying that the police have closed off Waterloo and Vauxhall bridges."

At Marylebone Station in central London BBC News reporter Nicola McGann said there was not a sense of panic or urgency - people were just trying to go about their business.

Australian Daryll Ashcroft, 31, who lives nearby, told BBC News: "I'm supposed to be picking someone up from the airport and would normally get there by Tube but everything is shut down.

"I thought I would get a bus but I've been waiting for over half an hour and nothing seems to be stopping - I don't know what's happening with the bus service and how I'm going to get to the airport."