The lorry was moved from the busy junction into a single northbound lane in Regent Street shortly afterwards.
Bookmaker Betfair has tweeted apologies for the incident and taken responsibility for the stray cephalopod, which it says was a prop used in a recent ad campaign for the World Cup.
Unsurprisingly, the strange and unusual spectacle has been a hit on social media, with the search terms ‘Oxford Circus’ and ‘Octopus’ trending on Twitter in the London area.
A Betfair spokesperson told The Mirror that the breakdown was not a PR stunt amidst suspicion.
Image credit: @Morafi / Twitter
