A car exploded in central Amsterdam with the driver suspected of having caused the fire on purpose.

Dam Square in the centre of the Dutch capital was closed to pedestrians and traffic while emergency services attended the scene near the city's war memorial.

It comes a week after a mass stabbing close to the square in which five people were attacked. Four of them remain in hospital.

A man, believed to be the driver, was spotted on fire near the vehicle.

A car was set on fire near the city's War Memorial

Officers from the city's police force said the driver appears to have started the fire deliberately and that he was injured in the blaze.

Police said camera footage had shown that the fire was caused by an explosion, which happened among a crowd of people on the busy square.

Images on social media show a man with burning clothes close to a small red car with flames lashing out the windows on the Dam Square. Police are seen extinguishing the flames on the visibly wounded man before taking him into custody.

Officers said it had sealed off large parts of the square as explosives experts were investigating the car.

Footage showed police extinguishing a man