ANTI-TERRORIST police raided a house in Buckinghamshire on Wednesday in connection with the London bombings.

Officers swooped on the "residential premise", in Northern Road, Aylesbury, at around 7pm and carried out a detailed forensic examination.

The Metropolitan Police Anti-Terrorist branch, supported by officers from Thames Valley Police, executed a search warrant issued under the Terrorism Act 2000 as night fell.

A police spokesman said the forensic examination "may take some time."

No arrests had been made.

The spokesman added: "This is in connection with the ongoing investigation into the terrorist attacks in London on July 7."

Neighbours described the occupants of the house as being a family, possibly Moroccan, consisting of a husband and wife with a young child.

They were said to have moved to the area only recently.

Aylesbury MP David Lidington returned in the small hours to the town from London where he normally spends the week.

Mr Lidington said he understood that police had suspected there was explosive in the house and were planning to evacuate people to the Civic Centre and the Guttman Centre at Stoke Mandeville Hospital.

The raid saw Buckinghamshire County Council placed on "emergency alert" amid fears over a possible bomb threat.

Chief executive Chris Williams said: "Because of concerns about possible explosives, it was thought that parts of the town might have to be evacuated and rest centres set up. Road closures might also have been necessary."

He said: "These are standard procedures in which the council staff and members are well rehearsed to ensure community safety in such situations."

The council eventually stood down just before 10pm when police indicated no evacuation was thought necessary.

A large crowd gathered at the entrance of Northern Road, which sits in a residential area close to the town centre.

Some of those who had flocked to the scene said it was a "mixed ethnic area where everybody knows each other".

The suggestion of a potential terrorist presence in Aylesbury sent shockwaves through the community.

Cllr Zulifqar Ahmed, from Aylesbury Town Council, said: "This particular part of Aylesbury is not a predominantly ethnic area. Everyone knows everyone here, but we don't know this family.

"We believe they are new here."

Raj Khan, an Aylesbury Vale District councillor, Buckinghamshire County councillor and former mayor of Aylesbury, said: "Nothing like this has ever happened before. Obviously it is very sad and the whole community will work with the police to make sure they get all the help they need."