The British Police carried out a controlled explosion early Friday in Bristol, southwest England's biggest city, and detained a 19-year-old youngster on suspicion of terrorism offences.

Avon and Somerset Police reportedly evacuated some 30 people from 14 homes so the Explosives Ordnance Disposal Team could carry out the explosion. They managed to detonate the bomb at about 2 a.m. in the Bristol suburb of Westbury-on-Trym.

The suspect was actually arrested Thursday afternoon under anti-terrorism laws, said Assistant Chief Constable Jackie Roberts.

"This is likely to be a prolonged, complex and sensitive inquiry which may take some time," she stated.

The suspect arrested yesterday afternoon under the Terrorism Act 2000 is being interogated at an undisclosed police station. A warant to search his home in the Westbury-on-Trym area was also executed.

Roberts added that police reacted as a response to “intelligence given to us in the last 24 hours." The explosion was controlled and the materials will be sent off for analysis, she added.

The United Kingdom has been on high terrorist alert since the 9/11 attacks in New York and the July 7, 2005 suicide bombings in London. The huge blasts killed 56 people on the London transport network including the four suicide bombers.

Since then, there have been similar attempts. British police foiled car bomb attempts in London and Glasgow days after Prime Minister Gordon Brown took office as the country’s Prime Minister last June.