Armed police patrol major Shropshire bank holiday events
Armed police have been on patrol at two of the county's largest events this weekend as security is stepped up in the wake of the Manchester terror attack.
Police stress there is no intelligence to suggest a specific threat and say the move is to provide reassurance to the community.
Extra armed patrols were organised by West Mercia Police at Let's Rock in Shrewsbury's Quarry Park.
Meanwhile officers carrying guns were due to be mingling with crowds at the Ironbridge Second World War Weekend.
However, Chief Superintendent Charles Hill made it clear that there was no intelligence relating to threats to the events and that the county remains "very much open for business".
He said the patrols were precautionary and down to the "size and anticipated attendance" at both events.
Chief Superintendent Hill said: “We have been engaging with the organisers of a number of events in Telford and Shropshire to ensure we have the appropriate and proportionate level of visible police presence.
“For reassurance there will be a local policing presence at events across the area and we have put in place some extra armed patrols at Lets Rock Shrewsbury and the Ironbridge WW2 Weekend for added reassurance at this time, as are many police forces for events across the country.
"These two events have this additional resourcing in place purely due to their size and anticipated attendance and not as a result of any threat or concerns.
“I want to reassure all those planning to head along to events this weekend that their safety remains our top priority and we continue to work with our partners and event organisers to ensure we are doing everything possible to keep you safe.
“There remains at this time no intelligence to suggest a specific threat at any of these events and Telford and Shropshire remain very much open for business.”
The announcement came after the organisers of Let's Rock Shrewsbury said there would be intensive bag searches at the event, with ticket holders encouraged to avoid taking bags if possible.
They urged people not to bring bags to the event if possible and to allow more time to enter the event as queues are expected to build up.
On the line-up for Let's Rock were 1980s musical legends such as Tony Hadley, ABC, Billy Ocean, and T'Pau, and it is understood that around 10,000 tickets for the event have been sold.
