Car ploughs into Muslims celebrating Eid in Newcastle

Six people, including two children were among those injured when a car ploughed into a crowd of Muslims celebrating Eid outside a sports centre in Newcastle, reports confirmed on Sunday.

An eight year-old boy was said to have been critically injured in the incident which police say is not being treating as terror-related, the BBC reported, adding that a 42-year-old woman was arrested.

Hundreds of people were at the event to mark the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan when witnesses say the car suddenly accelerated into the crowd of people as it was exiting the car park.

"I was at a car park when I heard screaming so I ran towards the community college just a couple of minutes from me," one witness told the BBC.

"When I went over I saw that there was a very young teenager covered in blood; another very young teenager also looked injured.

"There was a middle-aged man outside the community college with facial injuries and blood all over his face.

No further details have so far been provided, however the UK's Muslim community has been on high alert in recent weeks due to a rise in Islamophobic hate crimes that peaked with a terror attack targeting Muslims leaving a mosque in Finsbury Park last week.

One man was killed and ten others were left injured when a man rammed a rental van into the crowd of pedestrians leaving the mosque.