BBC: Terror raids: Four arrests as army bomb disposal called in

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Terror raids: Four arrests as army bomb disposal called in

• 19 December 2017

Image caption One of the raids was in Shirebrook Road in the Meersbrook area of Sheffield

An army bomb disposal team is at a house in Chesterfield after police arrested four men in terror raids across South Yorkshire and Derbyshire.

A cordon has been set up and nearby homes are being evacuated at the site in central Chesterfield, police said.

A 31-year-old man who lives at the address has been arrested on suspicion of terror offences.

Three other men aged 22, 36 and 41 were arrested in the Burngreave, Meersbrook and Stocksbridge areas of Sheffield.

All four suspects have been taken to a police station in West Yorkshire for questioning.

They were detained on suspicion of being concerned in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism under the Terrorism Act 2000.

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A neighbour in Shirebrook Road, Sheffield, reported hearing "an enormous bang" as the raid took place at 05:30 on Tuesday.

Carol Perry, who lives two doors from the scene, said: "I was asleep and then I was woken suddenly... and the house shook.

"My immediate thought was that it was an earthquake."

A spokeswoman from Counter Terrorism Policing North East said: "The public may have heard a loud bang at the time as police entered one of the properties, but it was not an explosion.

"[We] would like to reassure them that it was part of the method to gain entry to the property."

Image caption Neighbours reported hearing "an enormous bang" during one of the raids in Sheffield

Retired Joan Miller, 63, who lives opposite the run-down house, said she looked out of her window to see many plain-clothed armed officers in the street.

Ms Miller said: "I was woken by the explosion. It was very loud bang. It shook the house.

"I pulled the curtains and saw lots of armed men in the street, so I kept watching because that was quite extraordinary."

She said the officers shouted "very abruptly" for people to stay in their homes.

'Unsettling'

Elizabeth Fogarty, who lives across the road from the house in Meersbrook, said: "I've only recently moved up from London.

"One of the reasons we moved up north to Sheffield is because we felt quite nervous living in London with all the terrorist attacks taking place."

Supt Una Jennings of South Yorkshire Police said: "I understand our local communities will have concerns about this morning's police activity but I want to offer my reassurance that we will continue to serve and protect the public of South Yorkshire."

Derbyshire's Assistant Chief Constable Bill McWilliam said: "We of course understand that police activity of this nature can be unsettling.

"However, please be reassured, the arrest we wanted to make has been made.

"Our advice remains to be vigilant, which is not different to our day-to-day advice in the current climate, but continue to go about your business as usual."

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