A former dentist to the stars has been arrested after his city centre practice was raided by police this morning.

Ex-Harley Street practitioner Nadim Safdar watched as officials executed a warrant and asked patients to leave Bradley and Partners in St Peter’s Lane, Canterbury.

Officers were seen filming inside the Regency building while others went in and out with evidence bags.

On the practice’s website, father-of-three Mr Safdar tells of his five years on Harley Street, where his client list included “celebrities and foreign heads of state”.

He was taken in for questioning after police conducted a search warrant shortly after 8.30am as part of an NHS investigation.

A police spokesman said: “One man, aged 45, from Clapham, London, was arrested by police officers on behalf of the NHS investigation."

A notice to patients pinned on the gates of the practice reads: "Please note that due to an issue affecting staff access to the practice's computer system, Bradley and Partners dental practice is closed today.

"The practice will be open for business as usual from tomorrow morning."

It adds that patients booked in for an appointment should call the practice, and those in urgent need should seek advice from the NHS Kent dental helpline.

One patient, who asked not to be named, was turned away after travelling from Littlebourne for an appointment.

"I've been coming here for 65 years and first sat in the dentist's chair at the age of four," he told our reporter.

"Nothing like this has ever happened before. It's mystifying."

The practice was established in 1880 and lays claim to being one of the oldest in the country.

Its 12 dentists treat about 15,000 patients a year, providing both private and NHS procedures. It was rated Outstanding in a Care Quality Commission inspection earlier this year.

Mr Safdar bought the practice in May 2014 from the former partnership.

The twice-married dentist is also an aspiring author who has been featured in The Guardian discussing his novel Akram’s War, which was published this month.