Twitter was flooded with comical pictures of cats after Belgian authorities asked people not to reveal details about police activity on social media during anti-terror raids in Brussels.

The hashtag #BrusselsLockdown was swamped with cute and humorous tweets as part of an apparent attempt to make it more difficult for suspects to find information to help them to avoid capture.

Tweets included pictures of “suspect” cats being arrested by police, armed sniper cats and cats disobeying police advice to stay away from windows.

Many people praised the city for maintaining a sense of humour even after the terror threat level for Brussels was raised to its maximum level and the underground network, schools and universities were closed amid warnings of a “serious and imminent” threat.

Federal prosecutor Eric Van Der Sypt said police “want to thank the press and social media users because they took the need of this operation into account” and Belgium’s crisis centre tweeted: “Thanks to the media and citizens for their silence online as asked during the juridicial intervention tonight.”

PA