THE mayor of a market town reeling from the shock of two boys being arrested in a counter-terrorism swoop has moved to step up security at its largest public annual event.

Councillor John Forrest said, like many Northallerton residents, he had been stunned by last weekend’s intense police activity in the town, which saw the North-East Counter Terrorism Unit take two 14-year-olds into custody “on suspicion of preparing for an act of terrorism”.

Cllr Forrest issued a call for residents to unite and “show spirit” ahead of the town celebrating its 50th fireworks display at The Applegarth, from 5pm to 8pm, on Sunday, just a week after the arrests of the Northallerton boys, who were last night still being held by police in West Yorkshire.

On Monday, police were granted an extension to continue to hold the pair for questioning until today.

The family event, which usually draws thousands of people, will feature band Paisley Sundae and Northallerton Rock Choir and has been months in the planning.

Organisers have urged “as many people and families from across the town and the neighbouring villages to attend the free event to cut down on the number of accidents and injuries that occur on Bonfire Night”.

The mayor said: “It is unbelievable that this sort of thing has happened and is putting Northallerton on the map for all the wrong reasons. The danger is people letting it get them down.

“I would like to see the residents of Northallerton just carry on and to keep their chins up.

“It has come at the wrong time as we have the 50th town fireworks display on Sunday. With the arrests being so nearby, it has raised questions about whether we should carry on with the event. We should, we are Northallerton, we are Yorkshiremen, we carry on no matter what hits us.”

Cllr Forrest said he wanted to reassure all those who were thinking about attending the event that safety would be of paramount importance to organisers.

He said: “We are looking at the security. We have been given advice from safety experts at Hambleton District Council as to how to make the event as safe as possible.

“People are going to have to be very vigilant and immediately report anything suspicious that they see to police.”