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Four men - one from Birmingham - arrested on suspicion of preparing acts of terror are serving soldiers, the Army has confirmed.

The quartet were allegedly members of banned neo-Nazi group National Action .

The men, a 22-year-old from Birmingham, a 32-year-old from Powys, mid-Wales, a 24-year-old from Ipswich and a 24-year-old from Northampton - were detained as part of a "pre-planned and intelligence-led" operation and there was "no threat to the public's safety", West Midlands Police said.

An Army spokesman said: "We can confirm a number of serving members of the Army have been arrested under the Terrorism Act for being associated with a proscribed far-right group.

"These arrests are the consequence of a Home Office Police Force led operation supported by the Army.

"This is now the subject of a civilian police investigation and it would be inappropriate to comment further.

"Any further inquiries should be made to the Home Office Police Force."

In a statement, police said the suspects were arrested "on suspicion of being concerned in the commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism under Section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000; namely on suspicion of being a member of a proscribed organisation (National Action) contrary to sec 11 of the Terrorism Act".

All four are being held at a police station in the West Midlands and a number of properties are being searched.

The arrests were carried out with West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit in conjunction with the Wales Extremism Counter Terrorism Unit and the East Midlands Counter Terrorism Intelligence Unit.

National Action became first extreme right-wing group to be banned under terrorism laws in December 2016.

The proscription meant that being a member of or inviting support for the organisation is a criminal offence carrying a sentence of up to ten years' imprisonment.

An entry for National Action in the official list of proscribed groups said it was a "racist neo-Nazi group" established in 2013 and has branches across the UK which "conduct provocative street demonstrations and stunts aimed at intimidating local communities".

The document added that the group was "virulently racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic".

Its activities and propaganda materials are particularly aimed at recruiting young people, according to the list.