European Championships security scare keeps fans and athletes stuck at stadium

Dozens of athletes, including Amy Hunt, and thousands of spectators were caught up in a massive security operation involving armed police at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham on Saturday night

Dozens of athletes, including ­Britain’s Amy Hunt, and thousands of spectators were caught up in a massive security operation involving armed police at the European Athletics ­Championships on Saturday night.

One coach reported there were armed guards around the warm-up track and bus terminals, while police were seen searching buses.

Another leading British coach said they got on a 10.15pm bus that only left at 11.45pm and arrived back at 12.30am. “Fortunately they kept the kitchens open for the athletes,” a team official said.

The West Midlands police said a man in his 30s was arrested and remains in custody for questioning following suspicious behaviour.

“A man was arrested following concerns of suspicious activity at the European Athletics Championships last night,” a spokesperson said.

“At around 8.15pm, concerns were raised after a man was found in an area of Alexander Stadium with the wrong accreditation.

“As a precaution, security measures were put in place and ­transport for the championship staff and ­athletes were suspended.

“This then led to delays to ­transport from the ­stadium for the wider public.

“A man in his 30s was arrested on suspicion of fraud and remains in ­custody for questioning. We ­understand the concern this may have caused and can confirm there was no immediate risk to the public. As always, our priority is the safety of the public and we want to thank everyone for their patience.”

The first indication that ­anything was amiss came during ­Saturday night’s action when stadium announcers said that the six medal ceremonies would be postponed.

After the capacity 23,000 crowd had witnessed both British 4x100m relay teams claim gold, fans were then unable to get on buses to leave the venue, which is about five miles from the centre of Birmingham.

Athletes, coaches and officials, including Britain’s relay gold medallists, were told to return to the high-performance centre at the Alexander Stadium to stay warm, with many only leaving around midnight.

Joanne Ray, from Hampshire, told the Guardian that she had started queueing for the buses at 9.50pm but didn’t get on one until 11.15pm. “There were mothers with babies strapped in carriers, disabled ­people in electric wheelchairs,” she said. “They were absolutely frozen. And we were given no information.”

Ray and her husband, Ian, said they had paid more than £100 for their tickets for four evening’s worth of action, and estimated the pair had spent about £2,000 in total attending the championships.

“There was a drone above us all the time, so we knew there was something going on, but we didn’t understand because we weren’t given information,” she added.

“When we got nearer to the bus, there were lots of police, fully armed, and there was an Irish family next to us. I said to them, ‘This is not normal. We would normally see a policeman on the beat, a bobby, if you’re lucky, not armed police.’”

On Sunday morning, Finland’s Alisa Vainio won gold in the women’s marathon in a championship record 2hrs 22.26min, an impressive time particularly on such a hilly course, with Britain’s Abbie Donnelly taking bronze in 2:27.33. Britain also won gold in the team event.

Germany’s Amanal Petros won gold in the men’s event, setting a new championship record of 2:09.11 after a solo breakaway. He then jogged to the finish ahead of Italy’s Pietro Riva, who finished seven seconds back, with Israel’s Gashau Ayale just behind in third.