Town bosses ready for the threat of terrorist attack

Maidstone town centre is preparing for a terrorist attack as MI5 warns a Paris- style bloodbath is likely in Britain.

Representatives from almost 50 businesses had training this week in how to react if suicide bombers, gunmen or terrorists using car bombs targeted the town.

The course, run by Kent Police’s anti-terrorist squad, also included advice on how to spot a potential terrorist and what members of the public could do to prevent an attack.

Police terrorism expert Steve Burr said: “Airports and sports stadiums are contained – we can monitor who goes in and out. Town centres, where you work, are not. It does seem we are getting closer and closer to the day this happens.”

Mr Burr admitted he didn’t have all the answers but said that as a general rule people caught in a terror attack should run if they were able or hide if they couldn’t run, remembering to silence mobile phones and tell police as soon it was safe, giving details of terrorists’ locations and appearance.

A suicide bomber, he said, killed an average of 15 to 20 people, whereas a vehicle bomb, such as the one detonated in a busy tourist area on the Indonesian island of Bali in 2001, would leave about 200 dead.

As happened in Bali, terrorists will often set off small explosions, causing buildings to be evacuated, before detonating a much bigger blast in the evacuation area.

The business representatives at Monday’s training session, from The Mall Chequers, Week Street, High Street and surrounding areas, listened to a soundtrack of tills operating and shoppers chatting before being abruptly interrupted by the sound of explosions and gunfire.

They were asked to imagine it was happening in Maidstone and discuss what to do next.

Mr Burr gave advice such as don’t shelter near glass, which can shatter and pierce the skin like bullets when hit by a bomb blast, but also raised questions people may not have thought about, such as how would managers evacuate a shop full of panicked customers, some of whom would be temporarily deaf due to the explosion or blinded by dust.

Security service MI5 has assessed the threat level for international terrorism in the UK as severe, meaning an attack is highly likely.