Officers used metal detectors today to search the garden of a second-hand car dealer who is among a 'Dad's Army' of men with a combined age of 533 being questioned over the Hatton Garden gem heist.

An emergency plumber has also been named as one of the nine men being held - two of which are in their seventies, five are in their fifties and sixties and two are in their forties.

They were detained following a string of simultaneous raids by 200 officers - some of them armed - at 12 addresses across London and Kent at 10.30am yesterday.

Boiler engineer and plane enthusiast Hugh Doyle - described by neighbours as 'always willing to lend a hand' - was arrested after a raid on his £500,000 semi-detached home in Enfield, north London.

Simultaneously more than 25 officers stormed the £850,000 Dartford home of second hand car dealer Brian Reader, 76, and his son Paul, 50, and took them away for questioning.

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Suspect: Brian Reader, 76, and his 50-year-old son, Paul, right in a 1985 picture with his mother Lynne, are among the nine men arrested in connection with the Hatton Garden jewellery heist

Held: 48-year-old plumber Hugh Doyle, pictured, is believed to have been arrested at a £500,000 semi-detached home in Enfield, north London

Forensic officers are seen searching the grounds of the £850,000 Dartford home of second hand car dealer Brian Reader, 76, and his son Paul, 50, with metal detectors (circled) this afternoon

Today a home belonging to a postman, also in Enfield, was being searched. Police are guarding the property and forensics team have been there for the past 24 hours.

Another Enfield property, believed to be the home of a woman in her 50s called Valerie Hart, was also raided on Tuesday morning and a search of the property continues.

The eldest person arrested is Reader senior, 76, and the youngest is a 43-year-old from north London and the arrested men are all described as 'white British'.

Police are said to be investigating whether the men - branded a 'Dad's Army' because of their age - allegedly carried out the heist to fund their retirement.

More than 25 officers stormed the Reader's home in Dartford, where they are building a new property on site, on Tuesday morning and took them away for questioning

Second raid: Police enter the house of Hugh Doyle, was arrested at this £500,000 semi-detached home in Enfield, north London

Police also searched what is believed to be the Enfield home (above) of a woman in her 50s called Valerie Hart

A team of officers were seen removing a number of items from a house in Enfield believed to be owned by Valerie Hart. A black vehicle was also removed from the driveaway

A source told The Sun: 'Police are looking at whether the suspects had plotted a last "pension fund" raid'. Another told the Daily Express: 'They are proper old school. A real Dad's Army.'

It was announced that three men aged 67, 74, and 48 were arrested in Enfield, north London, while a 59-year-old man was detained in east London.

Two other men from north London, aged 58 and 43, were also held on suspicion of conspiracy to burgle yesterday afternoon.

Police have up to four days to question them before deciding whether to charge them.

One of the properties raided by officers is owned by a postman and forensics have been there for the past 24 hours searching throughout the house and garden.

The postman's mother told MailOnline that she believes he is in Portugal on holiday with his wife, who is pregnant.

She said: 'He's a postman who works every hour God's sends. He's a great dad, he loves his daughter, and is about to become a father again.

'I spoke to him yesterday and he is in Portugal having a wonderful time. I hope everything is okay with his house. He's never been in trouble or anything like that'.

Held: Boiler engineer Hugh Doyle, described by neighbours as 'always willing to lend a hand', was arrested in Enfield

High life: Plumber Hugh Doyle who is originally from Ireland, appears to enjoy flying planes and sailing boats, according to his social media profiles

Third raid: Police guard another Enfield home while a forensics team works inside and neighbours said that belongs to a postman

A neighbour reported seeing two 'elderly gentlemen' being led from the home of the postman yesterday morning.

The local resident said: 'I heard all the noise and came out and saw two men being taken away in handcuffs. That must have been at about half 11. They were both elderly gentlemen.'

Another witness to the raid said she was disturbed by a loud commotion yesterday morning and two police transit vans as police swooped on a suspect.

The woman, who called herself Demi said: 'The police were running up and down the street at about 10.15am. There were two massive vans going up the road.

'They tried to gain entry through one of the houses adjacent. One of the policemen had a ramming thing... some were wearing helmets with visors.

'There were quite a lot of people going in with those forensic suits.'

Another next-door neighbour, who did not wish to be named, said: 'They have a little girl. He's a postman. He certainly wears a postman's gear. I saw a whole load of them [police] with all their helmets and I thought it was a little odd.'

Another Enfield property, believed to be the home of a woman in her 50s called Valerie Hart, was also raided on Tuesday morning and a search of the property continues.

A team of police were today seen removing a number of items from the house, as well as a black Land Rover Discovery.

A neighbour said: 'Police turned up at around 10am yesterday and they have been coming and going ever since.

'I've seen them searching the back garden and I also saw police taking away a black jeep.'

Luxury: The £850,000 house (pictured) in Dartford, Kent, owned by Brian Reader, was raided on Tuesday, and the family have also been building a new property at the bottom of the garden (out of picture)

Project: The Readers are building two new homes in the garden of their Dartford property, which police were also searching today

Checks: Forensics were using a crow bar to lift up tiles and plaster in one of the new build properties on their land

Police searched the home of the Readers on Wednesday following their dramatic arrests the previous day

Dressed in forensic suits and white masks were seen searching the garden at the property in Dartford today

A uniformed officer guards the front of the property in Dartford (left) while forensic officers continue their search of the grounds (right)

Flying Squad officers have said they recovered a 'significant amount' of jewellery, gems and cash suspected to have been taken during the daring Easter Bank holiday weekend raid during the searches of 12 properties.

Experts have said that £60million of gems was stolen, but originally feared that up to £200million of cash and jewels could have been taken.

Police are confident they have cracked the high-profile case which sparked a wave of criticism after they originally appeared to be caught on the back foot.

Reader and his son, Paul, were arrested on Tuesday morning and are still being questioned by police, while officers began searching the garden of their home today.

RELIEF FOR GEM TRADERS AS POLICE RECOVER 'SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT' AFTER RAIDS There is now 'light at the end of the tunnel' for diamond traders whose gems were stolen, the President of the London Diamond Bourse has said. After it emerged some of the victims could be now reunited with their goods, Harry Levy, head of the trade association based in Hatton Garden, said police had 'come up trumps' for those whose livelihoods were threatened. Mr Levy told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'I've been quite sceptical about recovery of any property. I was absolutely delighted when I heard yesterday that ... they had recovered quite a substantial amount of as they put it high value property. 'We have absolutely no idea what they have recovered, but I am sure this will come out quite shortly.' He added: 'At least there is light at the end of the tunnel now as far as people are concerned in recovering their property. 'But I think it's going to be quite a long process of, a, sorting out the goods and, b, finding out what belongs to what.' Advertisement

Dressed in forensic suits and white masks, officers took pitchforks and shovels into the garden and also looked through bushes. They were also seen using a metal detector on a patio area in the back garden.

Neighbours say there has been a lot of building work going on at the property in the past months.

One neighbour, who did not want to be named said: 'They were always building and working on their houses, so it was horrible to have to live so close to them.

'There would be constant banging, all day and night'.

Police continued to search the property today and cordoned off the private road leading to it.

A delivery driver has described the moment he saw one of the men arrested in connection with the Hatton Garden raids.

Jon Donadio, 37, said: 'I was in my van and I pulled up on the side of the road. I saw the police with riot gear and I thought it was unusual.

'I saw the police, quite a few of them, all in blue police suits with peak caps.

'They had an old guy, he was in his mid 60s or 70s. He was being led out, there was no struggle, he came quietly.

48-year-old plumber Hugh Doyle, was arrested at a £500,000 semi-detached home in Enfield, north London, after Flying Squad detecitves and a 'coach load' of police arrived yesterday.

Police were seen guarding the house, which had been left empty by Mr Doyle's partner Jenny and their young children.

A forensics team started searching his home and paid particular attention to his bedroom.

Mr Doyle is originally from Ireland and describes himself as a Manchester City supporter and action movie enthusiast.

It is understood he gave up a City job to retrain as a plumber.

One neighbour, named only as John, 63, said: 'You could see they were there with Flying Squad because there were about three plain clothes cars and a police car.

'The coach was all blacked out. My brother used to live three doors away from him. He said he was quite a nice bloke.'

A source close to the inquiry said: 'This is a massive result and comes after a huge amount of work behind the scenes.'

During the Easter weekend raid, thieves used a heavy-duty drill to bore through reinforced concrete into the underground safety vault in Hatton Garden, London

Search: A team of Met Police officers arrive at the Dartford home of Brian Reader and his son Paul today less than 24 hours since dozens of armed officers arrested the father and son

Raid: Forensics officers were there today where the Readers run a second hand car dealership called Pentire Cars

Wider search: Officers have also been painstakingly checking the grounds of the Readers' home, including in bushes and shrubs

Specialists: Police carrying a ladder and what appears to be a lamp as they inspect the Dartford property being searched today

The Metropolitan Police have now arrested nine suspects in relation to the Hatton Garden gem heist

A source close to the inquiry said: 'This is a massive result and comes after a huge amount of work behind the scenes.'

Reader and his son live in a detached 1930s five-bedroom house hidden behind high walls and trees on a main road in Dartford.

It is the base of their second-hand car dealership, Pentire Cars, which has a website offering 'fantastic savings' and 'competitive prices'. One neighbour described the father and son as 'filthy rich'.

A local woman, 40, said she saw the pair locked in a 'stand-up row' just two days before police swooped.

'They were shouting and swearing at each other really loudly. I could not believe it because they are supposed to be father and son.

'But whatever the argument was about they were going crazy with each other – with lots of swearing and shouting.'

Witnesses described how the pair were led away by police yesterday before forensics teams descended on the property.

Kevin Watson, 56, said: 'It was just after 10 o'clock. About three vans full of police turned up. There were maybe 20 or more officers. They surrounded the property, entered and shouted 'Police! Police!'.

This map shows the location of the arrests. They include a 58-year-old and 43-year-old in north London, four men aged, 48, 58, 67 and 74 in Enfield, a man, 59, in east London and the Reader's in Dartford, Kent

'It was quite orderly and peaceful. They brought the younger man out handcuffed and put him in a van.

'Fifteen minutes later they brought out the older guy who seemed to be struggling a bit health-wise. He was holding his chest.

Meanwhile neighbours described plumber Hugh Doyle, 48, one of nine men arrested yesterday, as 'always willing to lend a hand.'

An elderly neighbour, who didn't wish to be named, said she had never seen 'anything of this sort' in her 46 years of living in his street.

'They [the police] were there when I came to open the gate to the dustman at 8.30 this morning,' the neighbour, who has been married for 52 years, said.

'Everyone knows him. The local pub knows him very well. He was not a bad man, he was a helpful person always willing to lend a hand.

'I am just very surprised. We are shocked.'

The neighbour, who lives just a few doors down, said: 'It's terrible when I see that people are such nice people, and then you come across these sorts of things.

'He has two lovely kids.'

Mr Doyle is reported to run a heating and plumbing business. He lives there with his partner Jenny Burdett Fraser, 42, who bought the property in 2006 for £299,995.

Both Doyle and Fraser became directors of his company in 2009.

Several large bags containing high-value property were recovered from one address yesterday and police said they were 'confident' they were jewels stolen during the burglary.

Gold, jewels and cash believed to be worth more than £60 million were stolen from 72 boxes at the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Company last month.

The thieves used specialist equipment to drill through a 20-inch concrete wall during a two-night raid over Easter weekend.

Way in: How the raiders are believed to have carried out the Hatton Garden heist by hiding in the offices, drilling into the lift shaft and abseiling into the basement

Defending the Metropolitan Police as he announced the arrests, Commander Peter Spindler said: 'On this occasion the systems and processes that we have in place with the alarm companies weren't followed.

'And as a result of that officers did not attend the premises when in fact they probably should have done; and for that I want to apologise.

'However, the keyholders were notified about alarm activation and the security officer was sent to the premises.

POLICE APPEAL OVER WHITE VAN SEEN AT TIME OF JEWEL RAID Detectives investigating the Hatton Garden heist released a picture of a white van which could be connected to the raid. Two CCTV images were taken of the van in and around the Hatton Garden area over the Easter weekend, when the raid took place. Detective Superintendent Craig Turner, Head of the Flying Squad said: 'It was a white Transit van, registration DU53 VNG, which was caught on CCTV near Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Ltd. 'We have had the CCTV from an early stage of the investigation but we are now releasing the registration of the van. 'Did you see anyone loading or unloading a white van in the Hatton Garden area over the Easter bank holiday? 'So far we haven't managed to recover the van yet. Have you seen a van matching this description and registration since the burglary in Hatton Garden or do you know where it is now?' Advertisement

'That security officer saw what our officers would have seen had they deployed; which was a multi-occupancy building on eight floors where in fact the premises would have appeared secure and no alarm was sounding.

'We have an ongoing review into the defeat of the alarm. We're going to work very closely with the alarm industry to make sure that this doesn't happen again.'

The Met has faced criticism over the raid, particularly after it emerged that police did not respond to a burglar alarm at the scene.

Commander Peter Spindler said: 'The Metropolitan Police takes these types of crimes very seriously.

'At times we've been portrayed as if we have acted like Keystone Cops but I want to reassure you that in the finest traditions of Scotland Yard, these detectives have done their utmost to bring justice to the victims of this callous crime.

'They've worked tirelessly and relentlessly, they've put their lives on hold over the last six or seven weeks to make sure that justice is served. They've exemplified the finest attributes of Scotland Yard detectives.'

A police corden was placed around a house in Dartford Road, Dartford and officers were seen going in and out of the property.

Millions of pounds of diamonds and gems were taken when thieves drilled their way into the underground vault and broke into safety deposit boxes belonging to traders.

Police had previously offered a £20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of all those involved and released images of the Hilti DD350 drill that was used to bore a hole 20in deep, 10in high, and 18in into the vault wall.

Detectives have previously described how there was rubbish covering the Hatton Garden basement, while the wrought-iron cage door had been broken down. An angle grinder, concrete drills and crowbars were found amid the security boxes.

Officers in London said there was no sign of forced entry to the outside of the building, indicating that the thieves had a key or that someone had let them in from the inside.

The gang appeared to have disabled the communal lift on the second floor, before using the lift shaft - which was also destroyed when police officers arrived at the scene - to climb down into the basement.

They then opened shutter doors into the basement, before boring holes into the vault wall.

The gang broke through this door to gain entry to the premises before going through 72 boxes