Two men were arrested by counter-terrorism police probing suspicious liquids sent to hospitals around the UK.

Liquid found inside an envelope at Aintree hospital in Merseyside sparked a partial evacuation yesterday.

The hospital was sealed off as police descended on the site, and today it emerged two men had been arrested in London over the incident.

It has not yet been confirmed if the arrests are directly linked to the Aintree hospital incident.

But the Liverpool Echo understands the suspect package was reported as suspicious liquid found within an envelope that had been sent to the medical centre .

The incident at Aintree hospital yesterday
The incident at Aintree hospital yesterday

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said "Officers from the Met's Counter Terrorism Command arrested a 29-year-old man from Brent and a 37-year-old man from Harrow at approximately 6.45pm yesterday, Thursday, August 2.

"They were both arrested in Barnet and taken into custody at a north London police station. They were subsequently bailed to return to a north London police station in late August. Enquiries are ongoing."

Merseyside Police said they were treating the incident as a hoax and refused to give out any more details.