A man has been shot by police in south London.

Armed officers were sent to the scene in Elsinore Road, Forest Hill, after the man threatened local police with "a large bladed weapon".

Scotland Yard said he is in a "critical but stable" condition in hospital. The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has launched an investigation.

A spokesman said the man in his early 20s, originally from Ghana but now of Forest Hill, was being treated at Kings College Hospital in the capital.

"The IPCC have deployed its on-call team and has decided this incident should be investigated independently," the spokesman said.

IPCC Commissioner Mike Franklin added: "This young man is receiving medical attention and his condition is described as critical.

"His family have been informed and have been taken to the hospital by the police so that they can be close to him.

"The IPCC investigation will be carried out by our own investigators and will look at the circumstances leading up to this shooting."