People across Essex are being asked to be alert to the signs of suspicious activity, in order to help prevent terrorist atrocities.

The latest phase of the Action Counters Terrorism (ACT) campaign launched yesterday and the new head of UK Counter Terrorism Policing has used the launch of a campaign to reveal that more than a fifth of reports from the public provide intelligence which is helpful to police.

It comes after last year saw an increase in attacks, including the Manchester Arena bombing, the London Bridge attack and the Parsons Green bombing.

Assistant Chief Constable for Essex Police, Andy Prophet, said: “Keeping our communities safe and free from harm is a role for all of us.

“Chances are anything you see will probably turn out to be completely innocent but we would much rather you give us the chance to investigate to make sure.

“You will know what looks out of place where you live or work and it’s important you tell us.”

The recently appointed Assistant Commissioner of Specialist Operations for the Metropolitan Police, Neil Basu, praised the public’s willingness to ACT in response to last year’s unprecedented rise in terrorist activity.

Now he is launching the next phase of the campaign, featuring a new 60-second film based on real life foiled plots, which will show examples of terrorist-related suspicious activity and behaviour, as well as attack planning methodology.

He said: “We have been saying for some time now that communities defeat terrorism, and these figures demonstrate just how important members of the public are.

“Since the beginning of 2017 we have foiled 10 Islamist and four right wing terror plots, and there is no doubt in my mind that would have been impossible to do without relevant information from the public.”

You can report suspicious activity to the police by calling 101.