Terror police swoop to arrest three

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The third man was arrested in the Accrington area - and police were searching the men's homes in Blackburn.

The men are of Asian origin and aged 21, 22 and 23, Lancashire Police said.

Local people said the searches had been carried out in the Whalley Road area of the town.

Resident Omar Hussain, who lives in Whalley Road, said: "I came in and there were police officers outside. They handed me a leaflet saying 'don't be worried, they're just looking into the neighbourhood, there have been three terror arrests'.

"It was quite hard to see which houses because there were crowds of people outside, and two police cars and a van. It's really worrying that it's so close. It's like 'oh my God, who is it?' You can't believe it's actually happening on your street, in your community."

Accrington councillor Doreen Pollitt was surprised to learn one of the men was arrested in the area. She said: "The majority of our community here are Kashmiri. We have never had any problems, and have a very good relationship with the Kashmiri Community, and have done so for a very long time."

Bill Crawshaw, terminal duty manager at Manchester Airport, said: "This has had no effect on the airport. It is a total police operation and we didn't even know that it had happened until afterwards."

The arrests followed a joint operation by Lancashire Police and Greater Manchester Police Counter Terrorism Unit.

Chief Supt Andy Rhodes, divisional commander for eastern division at Lancashire Police, said: "These arrests and subsequent searches of the nearby premises will be conducted with sensitivity and carried out as quickly as possible to ensure minimum impact on the three areas concerned."