POLICE raided a Redcar takeaway as part of a massive anti-terrorism exercise across the North-East codenamed Operation Icebolt.

Up to 150 officers, including armed police, staged simultaneous raids on several addresses in Redcar, Darlington, Middlesbrough and Hartlepool on Tuesday. One of the six men arrested was from Redcar.

Mo's Palace, on the corner of Millbank Terrace and Station Road, was cordoned off as police officers in white boiler suits searched the premises.

Mohammed Mohamad, the owner of Mo's Palace, was not arrested but he confirmed that he was the brother of Mousa Mohamad, one of the Darlington men seized by police.

Re-opening his shop on Wednesday, he spoke of his concern for his brother and his children. He said: "They are only young. They are being very brave and have gone to school today."

He added that he thought his brother had nothing to do with terrorism. "He does everything right, he is a normal person. The police have made a mistake. It is nothing to do with him."

He said he had no idea why his kebab shop was targeted and claimed police had told him they would not be taking any action against him. A spokeswoman for Cleveland Police said investigations relating to all of the properties raided had yet to be completed.

Mr Mohamad said the first he knew about the raid on Mo's Palace was when his window cleaner knocked on the door of his home not far from the shop.

"At first I thought there had been a murder because I was told that there were officers in white suits going through the shop. I ran there as quickly as I could," he said.

Mr Mohamad said he rents the shop and the flat above it is leased to a woman whose boyfriend is a frequent visitor.

Mr Mohamad, who came to Redcar from Jordan in 1991, added that he did not know the person arrested in the town.

He said he was concerned that the raids will have ruined his business reputation.

"I am a good person just trying to earn a living," he said. "The police have the right to come here but I think it could ruin my hard work."

Locals were shocked by the events. One woman said: "You don't think of things like this happening in somewhere like Redcar. Its awful, you just don't know who people are."

The six men seized in the dawn raids appeared in a sealed-off section of Peterlee Magistrates Court on Wednesday, where an application to hold the men for a further 72 hours under the Terrorism Act 2000 was granted by a judge