POLICE throughout the country are involved in a massive intelligence investigation to find those responsible for the bomb attacks in London which claimed the lives of 37 and left about 700 injured.

Home Secretary Charles Clarke said looking for potential bombers was like searching for "needles in haystacks".

Mr Clarke said a claim on the website of a previously unknown group, the Secret Organisation Group of al-Qaeda of Jihad Organisation in Europe, saying it was behind the blast, was being taken seriously.

Kent Police have stepped up security checks around the county, including the Port of Dover in light of yesterday's outrage.

A police statement said the port was operating normally at an increased security level as a precautionary measure but there was no reason to suggest there is a current threat to the county.

Dover Harbour Board spokesman Keith Southey said: "We carried out a thorough search of the port immediately after the situation in London became clear, with a negative result."

Kent have also issued a telephone number for anxious relatives of people who may have been caught up in the terrorist bomb blasts in London.

The National Casualty Bureau number is 0870 1566344.

Staff at Kent Police headquarters at Maidstone are supporting the bureau. A spokesman said anyone calling it should ensure they have as much information about the person, or persons, as possible.

The spokesman added: "The call handler will ask a series of questions to provide as detailed a picture as possible and help the bureau establish whether or not they have been involved."

Kent Ambulance Trust has been put on standby to transport any Kent victims of the London terrorist attacks back to hospitals in their home county.

The trust, based in Coxheath, near Maidstone, is liaising closely with the London Ambulance Service to establish whether any victims are from the county and whether they will need bringing back to receive treatment closer to their families.

Five accident and emergency ambulances, two patient transport vehicles and two specialist nurses have also been put on standby.

General manager of the service’s south division, Paul Barratt, said: “We are working very closely with both London Ambulance Service and Kent and Medway Strategic Health Authority to ensure that any victims from Kent are brought back to the county safely and as quickly as possible.

“At this time we do not anticipate there will be any need for our service, but we are ready should the need arise.”

* Were you caught in the horror? Email us on kentonlinenews@thekmgroup.co.uk