POLICE have been searching a house and an area of woodland in the Teignbridge area in connection with a terrorism operation.

Officers from the Metropolitan Police descended on Exminster after the arrest earlier today of a 30-year-old man in Somerset on suspicion of terrorism offences.

The exact area being checked was kept firmly under wraps by police chiefs until a news embargo was lifted at 5pm.

With local uniformed officers, the Met officers were conducting the search under Section 5 of the Terrorism Act at an address in the Milbury Reach area of the village.

Further searches were taking place in a wooded area nearby which was cordoned off.

It’s thought officers may have been carrying out discreet inquiries in the immediate area over the last few days.

A police spokesman said this afternoon: ‘The public can be reassured that there is no intelligence to suggest an immediate threat to our communities.’

The detained man, a serving member of the British armed forces, was arrested in Somerset by officers from the Met Police’s counter terrorism command SO15 on suspicion of being involved in the preparation for acts of terrorism under the Terrorism Act. 

No armed police were involved during his detention.

Police were issuing a brief statement at a media gathering in Exminster this afternoon.

Local residents immediately hit social media to describe the increased rush of ‘top cop’ activity unfolding in their usually quiet and untroubled neighbourhood.