Men arrested for 'preparing acts of terrorism'

The men were arrested as part of an "ongoing investigation"

Three men have been arrested on suspicion of planning terrorism offences.

Officers from Counter Terrorism Policing North West (CTPNW) carried out raids at about 19:30 BST.

Four warrants were executed across Bolton and Great Lever and in the Abram and Hindley areas of Wigan.

CTPNW said the men had been arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism.

'No wider threat'

The suspects are aged 35, 36 and 51 and are in custody being questioned by detectives.

Assistant Chief Constable Rob Potts, lead for counter terrorism policing in the North West, said the raids were part of an ongoing investigation.

ACC Potts added: "Today’s activity has been the culmination of much detailed planning and we have put measures in place to minimise disruption to local residents as much as possible.

“I understand that any time arrests of this nature are made it will cause concerns and people will naturally have questions.

"Although we can’t go into specific details of the investigation at this stage, I want to reassure members of the public that we do not currently believe there to be any wider threat linked to today’s activity."