'Bombings could continue'

No one was injured by the Hammersmith Bridge bomb

A senior security source has warned there could be further terrorist attacks in the UK by the group thought to be behind two recent bombs in London.

It is understood the Republican dissident group, the Real IRA, was to blame for the bombs on Hammersmith Bridge and on the rail track at Ealing Broadway tube station, in the last two months.

Sources fear that there is a group operating from a base in England or travelling regularly to the UK from Ireland to plan further attacks.

Police are on full alert over terrorist attacks

It is believed that young sympathisers are being recruited by old hands to bolster a bid to cause disruption over the summer.

There are also fears that the group could grow and become more and more powerful, the senior source said.

"I would predict that these bombings are likely to continue within Great Britain," the source warned.

"The attacks are likely to be more spasmodic than in previous campaigns."

The source said that both of the recent bombs were of a relatively small size.

Chaos

"There is a danger that this campaign will move to larger bombs."

It was revealed that the security operation in London was now operating "at the top end of high".

The bomb in Ealing caused huge disruption on the day that the Queen Mother celebrated a pageant for her 100th birthday.

The capital was brought to a virtual standstill as tube stations and a number of mainline stations were closed because of a number of security alerts.

The bomb in Hammersmith also caused chaos and the bridge remains closed.