Theresa May has reduced Britain's threat level from critical to severe and announced the end of Operation Temperer which saw armed troops flood the streets of Britain.

Her announcement means an attack is considered highly likely rather than imminent.

Troops will be gradually withdrawn from the streets from midnight on Monday, having been drafted in to bolster police numbers, the Prime Minister said.

Theresa May has reduced Britain's threat level from critical to severe

Speaking after a meeting of the government's Cobra emergency committee, she said the decision had been taken after 'a significant amount of police activity' over the last 24 hours.

She said: 'The public should be clear about what this means - a threat level of severe means an attack is highly likely. The country should remain vigilant.'

Mrs May also said Operation Temperer, allowing the military to be deployed to protect key sites, will be rolled back after the Bank Holiday.

She said: 'To provide maximum reassurance to the public Operation Temperer will continue to operate until the Bank Holiday concludes.

'Then from midnight on Monday onwards there will be a well planned and gradual withdrawal of members of the armed forces who will return to normal duties.'

The Manchester massacre, which killed 22, was the worst terrorist atrocity to hit Britain since the July 7 attacks in London in 2005.

Hundreds of officers will patrol major sporting, cultural and even community occasions

These officers from Avon & Somerset police were pictured smiling with a young boy

The de-escalation came as a street in Manchester's Moss Side was evacuated by counter-terror officers.

Boscombe Street was said to been cleared on Saturday morning, with one witness describing a bomb-disposal van parked at the junction with Yew Tree Road.

An address in the area was being searched by detectives as they sought to close the net on the suspected terror cell behind Manchester Arena suicide bomber Salman Abedi.

Yamma Wu, 29, said she had been ordered not to leave her house by officers.

'I can see police cars outside the street and they are not allowing people out or in and there is an evacuation in this area, but because I have got a little baby with me they told me I could say inside, but I could not go out,' she said.

Meanwhile in Brighton & Hove these constables couldn't help but enjoy an ice cream in the sunny weather. The force tweeted: 'The sun's out, so are we. If you see us about, come and say hi, give us a wave and a smile'

Tourists watch the Changing the Guard ceremony outside Buckingham Palace in London on Friday, after the event was cancelled on Wednesday

Police have also posted firearms officers to beaches amid concerns that remote spots could be vulnerable. Pictured are officers from Cumbria

It comes after police arrested two 'Libyan brothers' aged 20 and 22 on suspicion of terror offences in the early hours of Saturday, bringing the total number of arrests in connection with the Manchester bombing to 13.

There is still a large armed police presence around Britain as smiling officers are reassuring thousands of people while the country gears up for a major Bank Holiday weekend just days after one of the worst terror attacks in more than a decade.

Hundreds of officers will patrol major sporting, cultural and even community occasions.

Security at more than 1,300 events this weekend – including the FA cup final, premiership rugby final and Hay literary festival – has been dramatically reviewed.