Movie stunts that backfired: From The Foreigner to Iron Man 3

​A bus explosion in London that shocked bystanders turned out to be a movie stunt. It's not the first time filmmakers have caused a scene

Seeing red: angry witnesses watched a doubledecker bus explode on Lambeth Bridge in London (PA)

A red bus drives across a London bridge. The early morning sky is blue and bright behind it. All of a sudden, a fireball begins to bloom from the vehicle's back end and there is a deafening bang. Plumes of thick, grey smoke spurt into the sky and the scorched bus stops still, burning on the bridge.

This was the scene on Lambeth Bridge in central London at 10.30am on Sunday morning when a double-decker was detonated as part of a stunt for forthcoming movie, The Foreigner, which stars Jackie Chan and Pierce Brosnan. In the film, which has been described by producers as a “gritty action thriller”, Chan takes revenge on the Irish terrorists responsible for the death of his daughter.

Sunday's stunt may have looked cinematic, but, with the UK on high alert for terrorism – the current threat level is severe, meaning an attack is “highly likely” – many witnesses were left frightened, confused and angry. Comparisons have been made with the 7/7 bombings, when the number 30 bus was bombed in Tavistock Square, killing 13 people – including suicide bomber Hasib Hussain. John Taylor, whose 24-year-old daughter Carrie was one of seven people killed in the Aldgate station tube attack on the same day, labelled the stunt “insensitive” and said that it hadn't been properly thought through.

This isn't the first time a stunt has gone awry, however. In 2009, the US Department of Defense flew a plane low over downtown Manhattan – close to the area targeted in the 9/11 attacks of 2001 – to take pictures of New York harbour. The photo shoot caused widespread panic and led to the evacuation of several buildings in Lower Manhattan and Jersey City. President Obama was said to be “furious”. On another occasion, a theatre in Missouri hired a group of actors carrying fake guns to storm a screening of Iron Man 3 which – in light of the shootings that took place at a screening in Aurora, Colorado, of The Dark Knight Rises a year before – caused understandable uproar. An army veteran in the audience said the stunt triggered his post-traumatic stress disorder.

In accordance with the Location Filming in London Code of Practice, production companies must consult the emergency services and local residents in advance of such stunts. In this instance, the Metropolitan Police Service, Westminster City Council, MI5, MI6, the Ministry of Defence, Civil Aviation Authority and Port of London Authority had all been informed, and a notice from the production team had been posted through Lambeth locals' letter boxes on 29 January. However, a spokesperson for TfL has admitted that Sunday's explosion was bigger than originally anticipated.

“Permission for the road closures for filming on Lambeth Bridge on Sunday was agreed in consultation with a number of partners including the relevant London boroughs,” said Garrett Emmerson, TfL's chief operating officer for surface transport. “The explosion that took place was far larger than the film company had originally indicated. We apologise for the distress that this has caused and have launched a review of filming protocols.”