Counter-terror police search house close to Masood's former home

Counter-terrorism police have been searching a home in Birmingham where friends of Westminster attacker Khalid Masood lived.

Neighbours said officers turned up at a maisonette in Bredon Croft, Hockley - just yards from where Masood had recently lived - on Saturday lunchtime.

A family, who live next door, said Masood used to come wearing Islamic dress and take their neighbours' children to mosque - although they did not know where.

Masood, 52, from Birmingham, had until the end of 2016 lived in Quayside, less than 200 yards away.

On Sunday, specialist police search teams were still at Bredon Croft removing bags of evidence, while an unmarked van and a West Midlands Police van were parked close by.

Speaking with her mother alongside her, a girl living next door to the house said she had met Masood who "seemed kind, normal".

She said Masood's two children had gone to her school, nearby Brookfields Primary School.

The neighbour added: "A couple live there with their four children, they are a nice family.

"I saw the man from London visiting here.

"They went to London, my little sister was in his son's class.

Khalid Masood.

"They left last year, to go to London - before the holidays.

"His children used to visit next door and he (Masood) used to pick them up, sometimes."

She added: "Sometimes he used to come here and pick up their two girls to take them to mosque."

The neighbours said they had not seen Masood or his children since his family left before Christmas.

A woman, thought to be a plain clothes police officer, answered the door to reporters and said: "This is a scene."

A West Midlands Police spokeswoman referred press queries about the property to the Metropolitan Police.

Meanwhile, a 58-year-old arrested in Birmingham remains in custody after a hunt for accomplices saw 11 people held after raids across the country.

PA