A "small number" of Britons are said to be caught up in the Spanish terroist attack.

Five terrorists wearing fake suicide belts were killed by Spanish police as they thwarted a second atrocity, hours after the Barcelona van attack left at least 13 people dead.

Britons in the Catalan capital described running for their lives after a suspected Islamist terrorist drove a van into crowds through the central tourist hot spot of Las Ramblas.

In the seaside town of Cambrils, some 70 miles (113km) away on the Mediterranean coast, a car then ploughed into pedestrians in the early hours of Friday.

In a chilling echo of the London Bridge attack in June, Catalonia president Carles Puigdemont said the five terrorists in the vehicle were wearing fake suicide belts when they were stopped, and linked them to the earlier Barcelona attack.

Three people are in custody after the Barcelona attack but a manhunt is also under way for Moussa Oukabir, 18, El Pais said.

The newspaper reported he is the teenage brother of Driss Oukabir, one of the men already detained.

Seven people, including a police officer, were injured in the incident in Cambrils and several controlled blasts were carried out in the area in the wake of the attacks.

Bystanders ran for their lives as gunfire broke out close to the coastal town's beachfront promenade, while residents of the popular tourist spot were ordered to take cover indoors as bullets tore through the air.

Fitzroy Davies, from Wolverhampton, said it was like watching a "horror film" as panic engulfed the busy street.

Mr Davies, who was in town for a judo camp, described seeing a crazed attacker behaving "like somebody who was on drugs", before being shot.

He told Sky News: "He then fell down and then within two seconds he stood back up.

"He then stepped over the fence, charged the police again and the police then gave some more shots and then he fell down again."

Barcelona, a hugely popular tourist destination, came to a halt at noon today (11am BST) as a minute's silence was observed in the Placa Catalunya, close to the scene of the attack.

Led by King Filipe and Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy the silence was then followed by applause for the victims.

Three days of mourning have been declared by the Government of Catalonia.

More than 100 people were injured in the Barcelona massacre, the deadliest attack in Spain since the 2004 Madrid train bombs in which more than 190 people were killed.

There were also reports that investigators believe the terror cell may have been planning an attack using gas canisters.

Reports in Spain suggested detectives were investigating a possible cell of eight people thought to have been involved in planning the attacks.

Two suspects, a Spanish national from Melilla and a Moroccan, were taken into custody in the wake of the attack. A third was arrested later.

It has not been confirmed if the Barcelona van driver, who fled the carnage, is among them.

Prime Minister Theresa May said she was "sickened" by the incident.