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Five people suspected of planning to disrupt the G20 summit have been arrested under the Terrorism Act after police seized imitation weapons and home-made explosive devices.

The five, all from the Plymouth area, appeared in court today. They can be held for up to 28 days for questioning.

Those arrested include a 16-year-old boy and two women aged 20, who were held after a police raid on the home of a man arrested for spraying graffiti on a wall in Plymouth city centre on Friday night.

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The 25-year-old man was caught spraying "Antifa" on a wall, police said. Antifa – short for anti-facist – is a group that campaigns against racism and the far Right.

Officers seized imitation weapons including a replica AK-47 Kalashnikov assault rifle and a number of explosive devices made from fireworks.

They also seized “political literature” believed to include anarchist and anti-capitalist publications.

Assistant Chief Constable Paul Netherton told a press conference: "We arrested a man on Friday for spraying graffiti on a wall and during a subsequent search of an address a number of devices were found.

"Also found was literature relating to political ideology. Quite obviously, people are going to make a connection to the G20 and we are looking into that as part of our investigation.

"Use of the Terrorism Act is a serious step and not taken lightly, but the items we found justified its use. We found a range of imitation firearms, from handguns to long-barrelled rifles and a Kalashnikov-style rifle, but they had been disabled and could not be used with live ammunition.

"The devices were made out of fireworks and had explosive component to them. They have adapted some fireworks. They are probably not even lethal. We would like to stress this was not linked to religious extremism.''

The five were taken to Plymouth Magistrates' Court this afternoon where police applied for warrants for their further detention. The hearings took place in private and no information was released. Police have not disclosed any names although one of those detained is believed to be an international student of Greek origin.

Officers stressed that the arrests had no links to religious extremism and there was no connection to Nicky Reilly, the Muslim convert from Plymouth who was jailed earlier this year for attempting to set off a bomb in an Exeter restaurant.

In a statement, Devon and Cornwall Police added that those arrested were not believed to be part of a national or larger operation.

Assistant Chief Constable Sharon Taylor said: "I would reassure local people and residents of Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, that they are not at any risk and these arrests would appear to be isolated at this time."

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