Three people were injured in the German city of Heidelberg after a man drove a vehicle into a central pedestrian square.

It is believed the attacker was also armed with a knife as he ploughed the rental car into pedestrians on Saturday afternoon.

He fled the scene on foot, but was later found by a police patrol and shot and injured by an officer after a brief stand-off near an old swimming pool.

The motive of the attacker, who was taken to hospital, was yesterday still unclear, but police said terrorism is not suspected and he is believed to have acted alone.

There were unconfirmed reports from local media that he was mentally disturbed.

Police spokeswoman Anne Baas said one of the three people who were hit by the car outside a bakery was left seriously injured

Last year, a truck was driven into a Christmas market in Berlin on 19 December, killing twelve people and injuring 49.

The attacker, Tunisian Anis Amri, was shot dead by Italian police four days later in Milan following a Europe-wide manhunt.

Islamic State later claimed responsibility for that attack saying he was one of its "soldiers".