Several people have been injured after a car ploughed into a marching band during the Gulf Shores Mardi Gras parade in Alabama.

At least nine members of a local school were among the injured - some critically - after the car allegedly "mowed over" the group on Tuesday morning, according to local media.

City spokesman Grant Brown confirmed the vehicle was involved in the parade and accelerated before hitting the band from behind.

He said: "A teenage band has just started to march down the parade route when they were struck from behind. The vehicle was a part of the parade."

The Mardi Gras parade has since been cancelled and police are appealing for witnesses.

In a statement posted on their Facebook page, Gulf Shores Police Department wrote: "We have had a traffic incident with multiple injuries during the Mardi Gras parade and detectives are currently processing the scene."

The incident comes just days after 28 people were injured when a suspected drunken driver crashed into a crowd during the Mardi Gras parade in Louisiana, New Orleans.