Five men have been arrested in the West Midlands after the army bomb disposal squad was called to an address in Birmingham city centre at around 3pm on Friday (26 August) . Two of the men, aged 32 and 37, were arrested in the Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, while another two men, aged 18 and 24, and a 28-year-old man was arrested at another location in Birmingham.

The suspects were detained by counter terrorism detectives on suspicion of being concerned in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.

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Earlier, an Army Bomb Disposal Team van and a robot could be seen on Florence Street in Birmingham city centre.

Veshh Kumar, a concierge at Pentahotel, told BBC News: "We had seen police activity since about 12:00 BST then all of a sudden at about 16:00 the bomb squad and the army arrived.

Police confirmed the Army Bomb Disposal Team were called in as a 'precautionary measure' to the Lee Bank area, near Birmingham city centre, as a result of one of the arrests.

A spokesperson for West Midlands Police said: "The arrests were intelligence-led and part of an on-going investigation."

West Midlands Fire Service also tweeted: "Fire crews have been supporting police colleagues with an ongoing operation in the Lee Bank area of Birmingham. The police told us to keep all the guests safe indoors. We don't know which building it was or what has taken place."

Officers are also searching a number of properties in the Stoke and Birmingham areas as part of the investigation Mail Online reports.