A tram collided with a white van as it departed Merton Park station at 2.40pm today.

The van driver has been taken to St George’s Hospital suffering from whiplash. No one else was thought to be injured in the low-speed impact.

Traffic around the Wimbledon area is at a standstill after police shut Kingston Road for an hour. Tram services were also suspended but have since resumed.

Witnesses described a loud bang as the tram hit the Mercedes panel van. Several onlookers rushed around the driver, thought to be 37, who was said to be shaken but not suffering from any serious injuries.

Laurence St Louis was on the tram when the collision happened.

He said: "I was on the tram at the front. I pulled the door release after the impact so we could get off.

"I saw the van coming and knew it was going to hit, so I hung on to the pole.

"The emergency services operator asked us to ask him (the driver) questions, clearly to check if he was alive and his level of awareness."

More than six police officers are still at the accident scene investigating, but Kingston Road has reopened.

Elliot Swatton, an employee of Gem & Co Financial Services based in Kingston Road, said: “The van was in one piece, so it can’t have happened at any great speed, but the driver had to be taken to hospital. It must have taken about 25 minutes to get him into the ambulance.

“They let some passengers off the tram and it was about an hour until it moved away. The most surprising thing was the number of passersby trying to take photos of the accident scene, some getting pretty close to the van driver. It was a bit grim.”

Were you there? Do you have any pictures? Send them to newsdesk@wimbledonguardian.co.uk