Luton terror arrests: Neighbours say police’s 6am raid was ‘frightening’ and left walls ‘shaking’

Police were continuing to search homes in Luton today (December 2) following the arrest of four men in the town on suspicion of committing offences under the Terrorism Act.

In carefully co-ordinated early morning raids, officers from the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command (SO15) and the Eastern Counter Terrorism and Intelligence Unit (ECTIU) swooped on seven addresses in Luton at 6am this morning.

Four men were arrested and taken to a police station in central London, where they are being held.

One of the addresses raided this morning was in Ferndale Road, Luton.

Neighbours in the street were woken by the sound of a commotion outside the address, and shouting, as officers smashed down the front door of the property.

One woman neighbour, who didn’t want to be named, said: “I’ve never heard anything like it.

“The first I knew something was wrong was when I heard shouting at 6 o’clock.

“It was ‘Let us in, let us in!’

“Then I heard the sound of the door being smashed down and I could feel the walls of my home shaking.

“It was frightening.”

The three bedroomed end of terrace property was the home, according to neighbours, of a Bangladeshi family comprising of a husband and wife and their three children.

The neighbours say that the family had lived at the property for the past 18 months.

A woman neighbour of the family said: “I have to say they were absolutely fine with me and were probably the best neighbours I’ve had. They were no trouble.”

She said she had seen or heard nothing at the house over the months to cause her any suspicion.

She said: “He seemed a nice man and she seemed a nice lady.

“They had recently repaired a fence out the back between my garden and theirs and they did a smashing job.

“I gave him £60 towards it.

“They just seemed nice people. I didn’t know their names.”

The couple have three children, a small boy aged around 2, and two older daughters, thought to be around 7 and 8.

All the arrested men are said by the police to be aged in their 30’s and are suspected of being involved in the commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism.

Police say a number of vehicles are also being searched.

Today’s activity is part of a proactive ongoing investigation concerning individuals in the Luton area.

The police say it’s not connected to the recent attacks in Paris.