A woman was reportedly tasered and tackled during a stand-off with police after the stabbing of four men in a popular London tourism and entertainment district.

The drama unfolded during the lunch rush hour in Covent Garden when four seemingly random men — aged 34, 39, 42 and 52 — were attacked.

Covent Garden is the UK capital’s busy tourist area filled with bars, theatres and restaurants.

A 47-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon and assault.

She was taken to custody where she remains.

Police said they believed the stabbing was a mental health-related incident and a pair of scissors were recovered at the scene, police said.

The woman was arrested in a suspected mental health incident. Photo: X (Telegraph)

Matt Bishop, 42, who works at a consultancy firm next to the cordon, said he had seen a woman having a “stand-off” with three police officers and waving a weapon around.

He added that he did not see the stabbing but saw the woman running towards the crossroads and said she seemed “pretty incoherent”.

A restaurant manager said a woman “started stabbing random people” on a busy road in Covent Garden.

Arjan Gjorga, who manages a fish and chip shop in Endell Street, said the victims were “random people who were just walking by”.

Police previously said that three people had been stabbed in the incident but in a statement they later confirmed four people were found with stab wounds.

There was a significant police cordon on Endell Street in Covent Garden.

The cordon started at High Holborn and covers the St Mungo’s homeless centre on the street, where officers were seen speaking to people before they entered the building.

-with AAP/PA