UNTIL yesterday, the closest the residents of Preston Old Road had come to international terrorism was reading it on the front page of their newspapers.

That all changed when, at 3.30pm, dozens of people heard the screeching of brakes and a sudden burst of shouting.

Throughout the ensuing two-hour drama, many were still unsure of what had happened.

But they stayed at the edge of the police cordon until the gold H-registered Mercedes from which the suspects were dragged was removed.

One witness said: "I left my house to go to the newsagents and just as I was at the front of the shop I heard a screech of brakes, shouting and a scuffle.

"I turned round to see what was happening and their were armed police everywhere. One ran past me and bundled me into the newsagents, where we were locked in.

"We weren't allowed out for quite a while and the only way I got out was by going through the back door.

"I just wanted to be back in my house. In the newsagents all the headlines talked about terrorism, and we thought this must have been connected to it."

Resident Ruth Lazell said: "I heard a man shouting and went outside to see what was going on. As I got out of my door a policeman told me to get back inside."

She then saw armed officers force one man to the floor and pull a second from a car, handcuffing him on the ground outside her Preston Old Road home.

Another neighbour, who did not wish to be named, described how the suspects were dressed in white plastic suits and their hands and feet covered with plastic bags before they were driven away.

The stretch of Preston Old Road where yesterday's drama unfolded is an integral part of the Cherry Tree community.

There is a newsagents, chemists and hairdressers in the middle of a long row of well-kept terraced houses which date back to 1908.

After the suspects had been whisked away, residents went into their front yards for a better view of what was going on.

For those inside the shops, it was like having a ringside seat.

Peter Espley, owner of Espleys Chemists, said: "I was in the shop and I could hear a lot of noise and a lot of shouting. I had no intention of finding out what it was, but just went to lock the shop doors.

"I saw someone run past who looked frightened. I thought maybe it something to do with an irate driver at first.

"When we looked from the window I could see someone lying on the floor and what appeared to be a policeman holding a gun to his head but it was too far away to see who it was or what was going on properly."

Staff in Crimpers hairdressers told how they were advised to stay back from the windows. One member of staff said: "We just tried to get on with what we were doing."

For people who learnt their friends and family were within the cordoned area, it was a nerve-wracking time.

Shelia McDonald, 76 of Arnside Cresent was told to "go into the back room and don't come out" by police at Crimpers.

Her husband Dennis, also 76, said she was in the shop for an extra half an hour. He said: "She could not remove her car and was told to get in the back room and not come out."

"She just rang me to say she couldn't come home and I had to get the tea ready."

Coun John Williams, whose ward includes Cherry Tree, said: "It is the last thing you would expect to happen in a place like Cherry Tree.

"I think it is terrible that this sort of thing is happening in Britain, but wonderful that the police are making arrests."

Everything from buses to lorries, car towing caravans to cars pulling speed boats were either diverted down tight sidestreets or forced to do u-turns during the drama.

By 5pm, a recovery vehicle had arrived to take the Mercedes away. A bottle of water, still on the floor after being knocked out of a suspect's hand as he was pulled from the car, was picked up by a policeman.

Within minutes, the queue of traffic had subsided. To those who past, it was though nothing had happened....until the TV crews began to arrive to report on the incident.

For those still standing in their front gardens, it was an afternoon they'll never forget.