Parsons Green bombing: Armed police raid Surrey 'foster home' in terror attack investigation

The raid comes hours after an 18-year-old was arrested in Dover in connection with the bombing.
Chloe Chaplain16 September 2017
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A residential street in Surrey has been evacuated by anti-terror police as continue to investigate the Parsons Green bombing.

Armed police ordered residents in the Cavendish Road area of Sunbury-on-Thames to leave their properties as they searched an address on Saturday afternoon.

According to the Press Association, the property being searched by officers is home to foster carers Penelope and Ronald Jones, who received MBEs for services to children and families.

The Met described the evacuation as a "precautionary measure" following the arrest of an 18-year-old man in connection with the terror attack.

Raid: An investigator stands outside a house after residents were evacuated
AFP/Getty Images

Homes were evacuated at 1.40pm and a 100 metre cordon has been erected around the area as it is scoured by police.

The property being searched is property is registered to Mr and Mrs Jones, 88 and 71, who were honoured by the Queen in 2009.

Mojgan Jamali, who lives in Cavendish Road, Sunbury-on-Thames, said she was told by police she had "one minute" to pack her bags, grab her children, and leave her home as police carried out urgent evacuations.

The mother-of-three told the Press Association: "I was in my house with my children and there was a knock at the door from the police.

"They told me to leave. They said: 'You have one minute to get out of the house and get away.' I just got out, I got my three children and we left the house and the street.

Police: Officers guarding a 100m cordon that has been erected around the residential address in Surrey
AFP/Getty Images

"We didn't know what was going on. There was a lot of rumours going on, a lot of stories, people saying this and that, but we didn't know."

Mrs Jamali, 33, said she did not know where to go, so decided to take her children - aged between five and 10 - to the shops.

She said: "I had to do something to keep them entertained and to keep their minds off it - it's obviously pretty scary. I'm trying to keep them calm.

"But I know two people on this street who don't have a car and they don't have a phone to contact their relatives.

"I hope this gets settled soon, that we can get back to normal."

Parsons Green explosion incident on the Tube - In pictures

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She said there had been an increased police presence on the street since Friday, adding: "I only had to open the door and I saw police everywhere

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said: "Our priorities are to ensure the address in Sunbury is safe, and to identify and locate any other potential suspects."

He added his team were "quickly and thoroughly searching that address" and "working to ensure it is safe."

A Met spokesman said: "Police would like to thank the local residents directly affected for their cooperation and patience.

"Local officers are on duty in the immediate area to talk to the community and address any concerns that they may have."

The 18-year-old remains in police custody having been detained on suspicion of being a terrorist by Kent Police in Dover on Saturday morning.

Speaking after a meeting of the Government's emergency Cobra committee, Home Secretary Amber Rudd said the arrest was "very significant", but added: "The operation is ongoing."

She indicated that the suspected bomber was male, saying "we will have to make sure to take all steps that we can to ensure the sort of materials that this man was able to collect".

Police: There are more armed officers on the streets
Kevin Coombs/Reuters

Investigators - who it is understood are linking the attack to Islamist extremism - are continuing their probe and the threat level remains at critical, which means a further attack is feared to be imminent.

Thirty people were injured when a home-made bomb partially exploded on a Tube carriage on Friday morning.

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