Five men were arrested near the Sellafield nuclear plant in Cumbria, northwestern England under the Terrorism Act, police said today.

Local police said a stop check on a vehicle by the Civil Nuclear Constabulary at 4:32pm local time Monday led to the arrests of the men, who are in their 20s and all from London. The BBC reported they were of Bangladeshi origin.

Sky News sources suggested the officers became suspicious after seeing the men filming or photographing around the plant.

British anti-terrorism police were now investigating, Cumbria police said. The men were taken into custody overnight in Carlisle and were being transferred Tuesday to Manchester. Under the terms of section 41 of the UK's Terrorism Act they can be held on suspicion of terrorist offenses for 48 hours without charge.

The arrests came just hours after news of the death of al Qaeda leader Usama bin Laden, which led to warnings from the prime minister David Cameron for the British public to remain vigilant to the risk of reprisals.