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Anti-Terror Barrier Put Up at Iconic London Cricket Field

Anti-Terror Barricades Put Up Around Iconic London Cricket Field

(Bloomberg) -- Lord’s Cricket Ground -- the London venue that bills itself as the home of the sport -- is installing heavy concrete barricades around the stadium to protect fans from terror attacks at two upcoming matches.

Workers in orange overalls used forklift trucks to place the slabs between the surrounding roads and Lord’s, which will stage a national final Saturday and then the first Test match between England and South Africa. Similar protections have been placed in popular areas around the capital since attackers rammed a van into revelers in the London Bridge area earlier this month.

A member of the work crew said the measures were being taken to prevent vehicles from being driven into large groups of people. Neil Priscott, a spokesman for Lord’s owner the Marylebone Cricket Club, said the measure will remain in place until the middle of September following England’s match with the West Indies.

"There’s no specific threat to any match at Lord’s but the MCC believes these measures are proportionate and considered in light of recent events," Priscott said. Armed police have started patrolling at Lord’s for some of the recent games, while security checks of spectators have become more extensive, he added.  

Eight people died and 48 were injured in the London Bridge attack. The van struck some people and then the three occupants jumped out and stabbed others. That followed a separate incident in March when a 52-year-old man drove a car into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge, killing four people and injuring more than 50 others. He later fatally stabbed an unarmed policeman.

A van was also used to ram into Muslim worshipers leaving a religious event in North London.

To contact the reporter on this story: Tariq Panja in London at tpanja@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Janet Paskin at jpaskin@bloomberg.net, Christopher Elser, Peter Chapman