Magistrates have allowed police another week to question five men arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences.

The men were arrested in Stoke and Birmingham on Friday.

They are suspected of being concerned in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism, police say.

An Army bomb disposal team was also called to the Lee Bank area of Birmingham on Friday just hours after the arrest.

Image: Police in the Lee Bank area of Birmingham

On Saturday detectives from West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit appeared before Westminster magistrates via video link to ask for permission to keep the men for longer.


The police request was granted, meaning the five men can be held until the morning of Friday 2 September.

Two of the men, aged 32 and 37, were arrested in the Stoke area of Staffordshire.

Image: Photo of the scene. Pic: Ben Chambers

Another two men, aged 18 and 24, were arrested at their homes in Birmingham and the fifth man, 28, was arrested in another location in Birmingham.

West Midlands Police say that, as a result of one of the arrests, an Army bomb disposal team was called in as "a precautionary measure".