Anti-terrorist lorry barriers for marathon

A RING of steel and concrete barriers has been erected along the route of today’s London marathon to protect it from a potential terrorist attack.

“Hostile vehicle mitigation barriers” designed to stop a hijacked car or lorry being driven at crowds were put in place overnight.

Extra armed officers will patrol the 26-mile route, with police spotters on rooftops overlooking the event.

The increase in security comes in the wake of the Westminster attack, when Khalid Masood ploughed a hire car into pedestrians, killing five people. The shooting of a police officer in Paris on Thursday, along with the death of four people when a lorry was driven into a Stockholm store earlier this month, have also raised fears of attacks.

Under new rules, police have been instructed to shoot terrorists driving vehicles to stop an attack and have been issued with ammunition to penetrate doors and windows.

Police stress no specific threat has been made against the London marathon, but Scotland Yard pointed out the threat level in the UK remains at severe, meaning an attack is “highly likely”.