London commuters headed home this evening facing traffic chaos after roads were closed across the capital as police investigated a suspected car bomb.

Park Lane and Fleet Street were the latest roads to be cordoned off as diversions and bottlenecks spread through the city.

A huge chunk of London’s West End was closed down this morning after an unexploded car bomb was discovered outside a bar on Haymarket in the early hours.

Police officers on high alert have since closed off several further routes as they examined suspicious vehicles or individuals.

Fears of a transport shutdown reminiscent of the aftermath of the attacks of July 7, 2005, were not realised - most public transport routes were running normally - but the threat of further disruptions hung over the city.

The area immediately around Haymarket, where the explosive device was discovered, was still the worst affected this evening. Dozens of roads were closed this morning and four still remained shut as the rush hour begins.

Traffic heading north up Piccadilly and Lower Regent Street was being diverted up Shaftesbury Avenue and Regent Street. It was not yet clear when the roads would be opened.

Long lines of traffic were jammed around the area, and 16 bus routes - the 3, 6, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 19, 22, 23, 38, 88, 94, 139, 159 and 453 - were diverted away from the scene.

Park Lane was also closed in both directions between Marble Arch and Hyde Park Corner. A 200m exclusion zone was set up around another vehicle being investigated by police. The fringe of the park was evacuated and traffic has been diverted from the area. Bus routes 2, 16, 36, 73, 74, 82, 137, 148, 414, 436 and 10 were still running, but avoiding the area.

Bottlenecks and heavy traffic reigned as motorists attempted to negotiate the road closures.

Police were on high alert after last night’s incident. Officers also closed London Bridge tube station and Tooley Street briefly this morning, after reports of a man running away from a car in the area.

Fleet Street was also closed for a period this afternoon before being reopened.

Popular tourist destinations such as the Trocadero centre stood empty today as police guarded the area and directed workers and confused tourists elsewhere.

Elsewhere the heightened security caused problems, especially at the Wimbledon tennis tournament where every car going into the All England Club and its surrounding car parks was being searched, in response to the bomb alert.

A van driver delivering olives and salad who stopped outside the club to ask directions soon found himself being redirected by police to a depot far from the ground where the van would be searched.

Superintendent Peter Dobson, who heads the security operation at Wimbledon, said: “We have stepped up security. I have taken the liberty of redeploying staff inside the ground to help support the security on the perimeter.

"We have taken additional precautions at the car parks, with extra officers to support the security there. We are having a quick look in the boot of each car and checking car park passes.”

He added: “I have always been extremely concerned about vehicle-borne attacks as I have of person-borne attacks. I have to be careful I do not switch my security regime to focus more on one and expose the other. There is a balance to be struck.”

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