ANTI-terror police in England staged a raid on what is believed to be the home of a hospital doctor in Staffordshire yesterday as part of the investigation into the failed car bombings.
ANTI-terror police in England staged a raid on what is believed to be the home of a hospital doctor in Staffordshire yesterday as part of the investigation into the failed car bombings.
Police refused to confirm whether the search was linked to the arrest of a man and woman on the M6 in Cheshire on Saturday night, but unconfirmed reports suggested the couple lived there.
It came as a fifth man was arrested yesterday in Liverpool in connection with the investigation. Scotland Yard said a 26-year-old man was held and two properties in the area searched. It was understood the arrest was made in the city's Lime Street area.
In Staffordshire, neighbours at the house in Sunningdale Grove, on the northern outskirts of Newcastle-under-Lyme, said the house was rented by a doctor thought to be married with one young child. The wife was reported to be an Asian female who wears traditional Asian dress and the couple were said to have lived there for just over nine months.
It is thought the doctor living at the address was employed by the University Hospital of North Staffordshire, but a spokesman for the hospital refused to comment.
A police cordon and tent were in place at the detached property in a suburban cul-de-sac as residents spoke of their disbelief at yesterday's events. Daniel Robinson, one of the neighbours, said there had been a police presence since 9.30pm on Saturday night.
He said of the searched house: "It's a rented property. The owners are away and the gentleman living there is a hospital doctor. They have been here for just over nine months. I have only occasionally met him. He seems a very, very pleasant man indeed. He speaks very good English."
Neighbours at two addresses stormed by armed police in Liverpool also told of their shock at the raids. They said they believed two Asian men lived at one house near Penny Lane and they heard a commotion in the alleyway at the back of the property.
Rachal Tansey, 27, a student who has just qualified as a barrister, lives across the road from the house raided in Ramiles Road in south Liverpool. She said she heard dogs barking at around 1am.
"I looked out of the bathroom window and saw men with big guns, and they barged into number 80. There was a bit of a commotion. I saw at least four officers in dark clothing," she said.
Police also raided a second house on Hatherley Street in Liverpool's Toxteth district. Haroon Samad, 56, who lives next door, said: "I heard a noise about midnight last night, a policeman shouting Come out with your hands up'.
"The police were armed. I saw four people, the men who live at the house, come out with their hands up, and walk calmly towards the police car on the other side of the road. Another police car was stationed at the top of the road.
"All the lads who live there are in their 20s. Three are from Pakistan and one from the Yemen. They said they were students." He said police later knocked on his door to apologise for the disturbance and informed him that the men had been released.
Liverpool John Lennon Airport was closed overnight while police investigated a suspicious vehicle. It was taken away for examination and the airport reopened at 4.40am.
