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Officers with deadly assault rifles can be seen mingling with revellers enjoying bratwurst, mince pies and mulled wine this festive season. As well as uniformed officers undercover cops will be patrolling the beer halls and gift shops in a bid to keep the country safe. Visitors to the markets are penned in hefty blockades, designed to stop vehicle-ramming attacks like the ones committed in London last year.

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In a bit to prevent attackers from concealing weapons or explosives people will be subject to stop and search checks before going into the markets.

In the event an attack does happen incident response units are stationed close to the festivities, ready to react to an incident.

In 2016 an ISIS fanatic ploughed a lorry into a Christmas market in Berlin, killing 12 people.

These pictures show the increased measures implemented by police in Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds after markets opened to the public last weekend.