A gym was put in lockdown as armed police stormed in to arrest a customer suspected of terrorism offences.
The Warehouse Gym, on Platt Lane, in Hindley was put in lockdown around 7.30pm on Wednesday evening (May 8) before a man was taken away in handcuffs.
Owner Jonny Hart described the 'shocking moment' armed police stormed in as customers watched their fellow gym-goer as he was apprehended.
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Images show armed officers and police dogs searching the area following the arrest. This comes after Greater Manchester Police arrested three men across the region on suspicion of terrorism offences.
The men, aged 35, 36 and 51, were arrested at separate locations and have been taken into custody for questioning. Follow live updates here.
Mr Hart said he received a call from a staff member on Wednesday evening informing him an 'incident' had occurred at the gym. "There was a suspected terrorist as a member of the gym there training," reports the Manchester Evening News.
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"The police came with dogs and drones and everything and basically stormed the gym. We had a really busy gym, with around 250 members in there, so obviously there was a lot of confusion."
Mr Hart said the gym was turned into a 'containment area' with no one allowed to enter or leave while the police searched the business.
"We're in the corner of an industrial estate, so they put a containment on the area. We had police dogs and security at each side to stop anybody escaping."
"Then they swept through the gym. They were quite methodical in how they did it. They got hold of him very quickly and detained him in plasticuffs, and then escorted him out to the waiting vans."
"They made sure that everybody within the gym stayed there so nobody could enter or leave. And then they did, like, a sweep of the gym."
"But all the members of the gym, the staff, were quite commendable, really supporting them and doing what they can and explaining to the officers where he'd been in the gym, whether he'd brought a bag with him and, and so on."
Following the arrest, a police officer informed the gym manager that the individual had been under surveillance during the day, and after realising he was not at his home address, they followed him to the gym.
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"I think the main thing is they've detained this guy," Mr Hart said. "Whether he's guilty or not, they have had some intelligence and they've secured him and there's been no injuries, no problems that way."
"So you know from our perspective we fully support what they've done. And you know I'm sure the investigation will lead on to further things."
Police scenes continue in Bolton, Great Lever, Abram, and Hindley following searches as part of a counter-terrorism investigation. Assistant Chief Constable Rob Potts stated: "This evening we have executed a number of planned warrants as part of an ongoing counter terrorism investigation."
"Three men have been taken into custody for questioning and scenes remain in place as we conduct further enquiries. 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."
"Further detail will be released where appropriate as the investigation progresses."
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