Up to 13 people are feared dead and dozens more injured after a van ploughed into pedestrians in a terror attack in a busy tourist area of Barcelona.

Police are hunting for the driver of a white Fiat van, who fled on foot after the incident in Las Ramblas.

Sources confirmed that the death toll from the latest terror attack to strike a major European city was expected to reach 13.

The vehicle careered into terrified pedestrians in the busy tree-lined promenade, one of the most popular parts of the city, visited by tourists and locals alike.

Catalonia's interior minister Joaquim Forn told reporters: "Unfortunately the number of fatalities will likely rise."

According to unconfirmed reports, two attackers were holed up in a bar near the scene.

Lawyer and University of Glasgow rector Aamer Anwar was walking in Las Ramblas when he heard screaming.

He said a shopkeeper told him five or six people were badly injured and described the scene as "chaos".

Mr Anwar old the Press Association: "I had been to the Cathedral and was walking down Las Ramblas for something to eat.

"Part of it was in the shade so I decided to keep walking down and literally within 10 seconds there was a crashing noise.

"I turned around and people were screaming. I could see a woman screaming with her kids. People started running and jumping into shops.

"I ran for about 50 or 100 metres and stopped to see what was happening.

"The police were very quickly on the scene and getting people to move back.