Masked and armed police swoop to make terror arrest on leafy Stockport street

17:25, 04 May 2025Updated 17:33, 04 May 2025

Police on Heathbank Road in Cheadle Hulme(Image: Submitted)

Neighbours have told of shocking scenes as a terror arrest was made on a leafy Stockport street yesterday (May 3) as part of an ongoing nationwide probe.

Armed police made arrests in Rochdale, Stockport, and Manchester on Saturday (May 3). Three men, aged 40, 29, and one whose age is yet to be confirmed, have been arrested and remain in police custody.

As part of the operation, further arrests were also carried out in Swindon and west London. All the men, except the individual arrested in Manchester, are believed to be Iranian nationals.

The investigation, led by the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command, along with Greater Manchester Police and Wiltshire Police, led to multiple arrests in relation to a suspected terrorist plot to ‘target a specific premises’.

Police descended on Heathbank Road in hulme>Cheadle Hulme at around 5:30pm on Saturday (May 3). Neighbours described tactical aid units blocking off the road near Greenbank Preparatory School as masked Met Police officers descended from unmarked cars and swooped in to detain a number of individuals.

The Metropolitan Police later confirmed that a 29-year-old man was arrested at the scene.

Tactical aid units on Heathbank Road(Image: Sarah Cash)

One neighbour on Billy’s Lane, which runs behind the school, said she heard “what sounded like men shouting” from her back garden. “It sounded like they were having a fight,” she said. “But then we saw police vans blocking off the road.”

Another local resident, Sarah Cash, said she had been walking along Heathbank Road from Nursery Road to collect her son from Heathbank Park some 100 metres away when she was stopped from continuing by tactical aid officers blocking off the road.

“They were Met Police and they were all covered up with caps and balaclavas,” she said. “They said we couldn’t go any further.”

“I said our son was at the park and we had to get to him. We were told the children were safe – but we had to stand around waiting for over an hour and our son wasn’t answering his phone.”

From the police line, Sarah said she could see a man sitting cross-legged on the floor. “He had his hands cuffed behind his back, and there were two more men further down who were handcuffed as well.”

Children were playing in Heathbank Park when armed police arrived(Image: Manchester Evening News)

The Manchester Evening News understands these arrests were not centred around or linked to one address but rather took place on the road. There did not appear to be any police scene or activity in the area today (May 4).

“It’s quite a boring area normally,” said another woman living on nearby Nursery Road. “So we were shocked when we heard a massive commotion from the garden. We looked outside and saw the road blocked off with tactical aid units going past.”

At the same time, she had a call from her son who had been playing in Heathbank Park. “He said, ‘don’t go to the park – there’s men with guns’. These turned out to be armed police.”

“Our window cleaner got permission to walk through the line,” the woman continued. “He said he saw a man lying on the ground with cable ties on his wrists and ankles – and he had police with guns trained on him.”

Tactical aid units at the junction of Nursery Road and Heathbank Road(Image: Sarah Cash)

The Metropolitan Police said five men have been arrested in total on suspicion of preparation of a terrorist act, contrary to section 5 of the Terrorism Act (TACT), 2006. They added the investigation relates to a ‘suspected plot to target a specific premises’.

They were a 29-year-old man who was arrested in the Swindon area; a 46-year-old man who was arrested in west London; a 29-year-old man who was arrested in the Stockport area; a 40-year-old man who was arrested in the Rochdale area and another man who was arrested in the Manchester area.

Four men are Iranian nationals. The nationality of the fifth man is still being established, the Met said.

Commander Dominic Murphy, Head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said: “This is a fast-moving investigation and we are working closely with those at the affected site to keep them updated.

“The investigation is still in its early stages and we are exploring various lines of enquiry to establish any potential motivation as well as to identify whether there may be any further risk to the public linked to this matter.

“We understand the public may be concerned and as always, I would ask them to remain vigilant and if they see or hear anything that concerns them, then to contact us.

“We are working closely with local officers in the areas where we have made arrests today and I’d like to thank police colleagues around the country for their ongoing support.”