A man threatening to jump into the River Thames caused early morning chaos as crowds of people were left stranded on both sides of a closed Putney Bridge.

Hundreds of people could not get home between 1am and 4.30am on Sunday as buses terminated and taxi drivers were accused of cashing in by charging "extortionate" fares, while others were said to have refused to take diverted routes.

Transport for London (TfL) said it would have altered its plans if it had known police were not allowing pedestrians over the bridge.

Police closed the bridge for three hours as they tried to prevent the man throwing himself into the icy waters. The closure forced people to travel over Wandsworth Bridge or divert to Hammersmith Bridge.

Bus passenger Sue May, 30, who was travelling from Fulham towards her home in Tolworth, witnessed the scenes of chaos after being forced off on the Fulham side of the river.

She said: "It just seemed to me that nobody wanted to help us to get home. Buses were terminating, one turned his lights off.

"I asked a mini cab driver for help but they were charging astronomical prices, it was just ludicrous. There were tons of people and some were getting quite angry as they only live on the other side of the bridge in Putney.

"They were standing there waiting. It was just crazy.

"The bridge was completely empty apart from police who were everywhere."

A Transport for London spokeswoman said: "Most of the buses affected went over Wandsworth Bridge.

"Two buses, the 85 and 93, were curtailed on the other side of Putney Bridge.

"There was a communications problem with police.

"If we had known they were not letting people over Putney Bridge we would not have left people and taken a different diversion."

A police spokeswoman later confirmed the man did not jump off the bridge.

It is the second time this month that Putney has suffered a serious traffic diversion.

Traffic police closed off a large stretch of Putney Bridge Road at around 7.30pm on Sunday, April 2, after a motorcyclist crashed, killing himself and injuring his passenger.

The road was closed for two hours, causing congestion in Putney High Street and residential roads.

Were you among the stranded? Email seast@london.newsquest.co.

uk.