Residents in east London have expressed concern over British army plans to install high velocity surface-to-air missiles on top of their apartment building during the Olympic Games.

Last month, the British government said it was evaluating potential sites to secure the city from any possible airborne terrorist attack.

Army officers are due to carry out a military exercise at the Bow Quarter apartment complex next week.

It is the first time such missiles have been deployed in London since the end of WWII, shocking some residents at Bow Quarter, sited in a converted red-brick Victorian match factory.

"There was no consultation, no-one knocked on the door," Brian Whelan, a Dublin-born journalist, told Reuters. "You just wake up one morning, there's a leaflet telling you they are going to put missiles on the roof."

The measure was excessive and had upset his girlfriend, he said."I can't imagine the circumstances that would require you to fire missiles over a highly populated area."

British Defence Secretary Philip Hammond first announced the plans in November, saying Britain would follow the precedent set by previous Olympics such as the Beijing games in 2008 where surface-to-air missiles were stationed a kilometre south of its showpiece stadiums.

The defence ministry said in a leaflet sent to occupants yesterday that it had chosen the former water tower in the Bow Quarter complex because it offered "an excellent view of the surrounding area and the entire sky above the Olympic Park."

The tower was in fact "the only suitable site in this area for the HVM (High Velocity Missile) system," it added.

The rooftop missile battery is one of a number of extraordinary measures Londoners can expect during the high-profile sporting festival, including restrictions on road lanes for Olympic use and a security bill of more than £1bn.