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Police are treating the stabbing of a man in Surrey as a terrorist incident "inspired by the far-right".

A 19-year-old was knifed in a Tesco car park in Stanwell on Saturday night. He survived the attack.

A 50-year-old man was arrested near the scene on suspicion of attempted murder and racially aggravated public order. He remained in custody on Sunday evening.

And Neil Basu, the Met's head of Counter Terrorism Policing, said on Sunday: “Whilst this investigation is still in its infancy, it has hallmarks of a terror event, inspired by the far-right, and therefore it has been declared a terrorism incident."

The victim remained in hospital on Sunday, though his injuries - the nature of which are unknown - are not life-threatening.

Just before 10.30pm on Saturday, Surrey Police was called to Viola Avenue in Stanwell - a village near Heathrow Airport - over reports of a man acting aggressively and shouting racist comments while carrying a baseball bat and a knife. Several vehicles were also damaged.

A further call was received by the force at 10.30pm reporting a man had been stabbed. It is believed the suspect is the same man who was reported as acting aggressively.

Officers, including armed officers, located the suspect after a search and arrested him. Meanwhile, police said the victim had to go to a nearby McDonald's to seek help after the attack.

Mr Basu said declaring the incident as terror-related allows police to "use all of the specialist capabilities available to establish the full circumstances of this attack".

He added: "The investigation is being led by an investigation team based in the Counter Terrorism Policing South East region, who are working closely with our colleagues in Surrey Police in order to build a better picture of what has occurred.

“Police are committed to tackling all forms of toxic extremist ideology, which has the potential to threaten public safety and security.

"Local officers will be out and about providing reassurance and protective security advice to communities, places of worship and businesses."

Prime Minister Theresa May later said in a tweet: "My thanks to the emergency services for their handling of the terrorist incident in Stanwell. My thoughts are with the injured man, and his family and friends. Vile, hateful far-right extremism has no place in our society."

Several police cars were parked outside a terraced house in Viola Avenue on Sunday evening.

Police officers searching the property were seen leaving with a bag of evidence, while a car was also removed.

Neighbours gathered nearby, while other people could be seen peering out their windows at the scene below.

Abhishek Agrawal, 40, and his wife Tanu, 36, who run catering company Indian Homemade in Viola Avenue, said they were shocked and scared by news of the attack.

Mr Agrawal said: "Last night I saw a helicopter so we knew something was happening. We could hear it flying above the area for a long time.

"We have lived here for nearly a decade and have never heard of anything like this happening.

"It's very scary to hear this has happened, I work in central London and often come back late on the last bus."

Mrs Agrawal said: "It's very scary and sad. It's a very quiet area. We have never heard of anything like this."

Det Supt Karen Mizzi, from Surrey Police, said: "This is a shocking and worrying incident and we are working to support our colleagues at Counter Terrorism Police South East with their enquiries and will continue to liaise with the local community.

“I want to reassure residents that we are doing all we can to ensure a thorough investigation takes place and we are supporting those affected by last night’s events.

“Patrols will be stepped up across Stanwell in order to provide assurances to those in the area specifically around mosques and increasing engagement with communities of all faiths, giving advice on how people and places can protect themselves."

She added: “We stand together with all communities in Surrey and we will take action against any criminal behaviour which seeks to undermine society, especially where crimes are motivated by hate.

"There can never be any excuse for this type of incident in any shape or form and this criminality will not be tolerated."

Additional reporting by Press Association.