A terrorist wearing a fake suicide vest who went on a knife rampage in central London killing two people has been shot dead by police.

Several people were stabbed by the knifeman before he was grappled to the ground and disarmed by members of the public on London Bridge.

Whitehall sources told the PA news agency that two of the victims had died and one person was in a critical condition in hospital.

Footage on social media showed one man being urged to move away by armed officers before the suspect was shot at point-blank range, as another bystander could be seen carrying a large knife from the scene.

Another video appeared to show a person on a stretcher, surrounded by emergency services staff and vehicles, being given CPR by responders following the attack.

The members of the public who intervened have been widely praised, with Mayor of London Sadiq Khan hailing their “breathtaking heroism” and Prime Minister Boris Johnson their “extraordinary bravery”.

Witnesses said the suspect appeared to be wearing a suicide vest but Neil Basu, the head of UK counter-terrorism policing, said the vest was a fake.

He said police were called at around 2pm on Friday to a stabbing “at a premises near London Bridge”.

The bridge was the scene of a terror attack in 2017 – also during a general election campaign – when eight victims were killed along with the three terrorists, who were also wearing fake suicide vests and armed with knives.