Two men arrested in Dartford in connection with a multimillion pound jewellery heist at Hatton Garden remain in custody today.

The duo, who were being named as car dealer Brian Reader, 76, and son, also called Brian, 50, were held by Metropolitan Police officers in Dartford Road, and taken to a London police station.

They were among nine arrests following 12 raids carried out at addresses in London and Kent yesterday morning.

A third suspect was named today as Hugh Doyle, a plumber from Enfield.

A significant amount of high value property has been recovered from one address.

Kevin Watson, 56, lives opposite the house in Dartford Road.

He told KentOnline: "Three Met Police vans parked up and about 25 officers in full gear got out. I couldn't tell if they were armed but they had baton chargers and helmets.

"They were really synchronised. Some went down the back, some the side and after about 30 minutes they brought the younger guy out and questioned him in the van.

"Then after 15 minutes the older man came out and was also questioned. Then they were driven off."

Mr Watson said the two men were not well-known in the area.

He said: "They keep themselves to themselves, the property is quite secluded. I don't think many people around here know them.

"I think they were used car dealers, there used to be a lot of cars on the driveway.

"I was just stunned. You don't expect to see that in this area at that time of the day. To have a major story on your doorstep is crazy.

"When I heard what it was it is still a huge shock."

Bradley Russell, 21, said: "I don't know much about the guys but my parents live here so I wanted to know what happened.

"I think this will be a massive story when the details come out."

The Met Police is appealing for information about a white van, registration DU53VNG, in connection with the heist.

Last month, thieves drilled through the vault wall of an underground safe deposit facility before leaving with a number of security boxes.

More than 72 were opened during the burglary, with millions of pounds worth of jewels stolen in the raid.

The Metropolitan Police has made a total of nine arrests, including the two men in Dartford.

The seven other men were arrested at addresses throughout London.

Scotland Yard revealed officers from the Flying Squad have worked "relentlessly" over the past six weeks to track down those responsible.

They also said police procedures when responding to the intruder alarm were not followed.

The Metropolitan Police apologised for the error, which would have seen officers attend the incident in normal circumstances.

A force spokesman said: "We are working closely with the alarm industry to improve the call handling and response processes at both ends to ensure nothing like this happens again.

"A more detailed investigation into the defeat of the alarm system at Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Ltd is ongoing and we will share the lessons learned with the business community in due course."

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