Security alert for Grand National

Racegoers will be subject to personal and bag searches

Security at this year's Grand National horse race meeting is to be stepped up as a precaution against a possible attack by Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda terrorist network.

Merseyside Police says it has brought in additional measures for the three-day meeting which starts on 4 April, and culminates in the famous race on Saturday.

Police say they have no specific intelligence that the historic event will be targeted.

But security at the Aintree course in Liverpool has been high profile since IRA bomb threats forced the evacuation of the site in 1997.

Visitors to Aintree will face additional security

A Merseyside Police spokesman said: "We are taking no chances."

No cars will be allowed onto the course and police are urging visitors to use public transport.

All racegoers will be subject to personal and bag searches, using airport-style metal detectors and X-ray machines.

The spokesman said: "The world is a different place since September 11 so we have looked at any possibilities that have arisen from that development.

Animal protesters

"We have developed very robust contingency plans for anything that might happen as a result of that event.

"There is no intelligence that there is a threat from Middle Eastern terrorism."

She said: "Each year we do a review of what we do and we try to make sure it is the best and most suitable for that year."

Police also confirmed animal welfare group Animal Aid will hold a demonstration outside Aintree on the third day of the festival.