Buckingham Palace gates are boarded up after driver crashed into them with cops yelling ‘keep your hands on your head’

BUCKINGHAM Palace's gates have been boarded up after a car smashed into them in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Dramatic footage shows armed police surrounding the motorist, who was on his knees, as they yelled "keep your hands on your head!".

Officers swooped after the vehicle rammed into the main entrance gates of the royal residence in Westminster, central London.

The Met Police said a man had been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage.

The gates remain boarded up today.

A witness to the incident, who wished to remain anonymous, said he watched the scene unfold at around 2:30am Saturday after hearing a 'loud bang'.

He said: "I heard a loud bang, and I looked over and the car had crashed into Buckingham Palace.

"Police were on the scene pretty quickly - and they got the man out and arrested him."

The Met said there were no reports of any injuries.

A police spokesperson said: "At around 2.35am on Saturday, March 9, a car collided with the gates of Buckingham Palace.

"Armed officers arrested a man at the scene on suspicion of criminal damage.

"He was taken to hospital where following assessment he was sectioned under the Mental Health Act.

"He has been released on bail and enquiries continue.

"The matter is not being treated as terror-related."

In a separate incident in May last year, a man was arrested after throwing shotgun cartridges into the grounds of Buckingham Palace.

David Huber, 60, was sentenced to a two-year community order which included 12 months of mental health treatment.

And in July a man handcuffed himself to the gates of Buckingham Palace - triggering an urgent police response.

In May 2022, a man was arrested at Buckingham Palace for trespassing and telling staff: "I want to see the Queen."

Meanwhile in December 2021 an American tourist was fined £200 after jumping over the fence into the Mews on the afternoon of December 10 last year in the midst of a psychotic episode.