WALTHAM Forest is in danger of being seen as a “hotbed of terrorism” by outsiders following the transatlantic bomb plot trials, according to an imam from a Leyton mosque.

Ringleader Abdulla Ahmed Ali, 27, of Walthamstow, and Tanvir Hussain, 27, of Leyton, were this week, along with Assad Sarwar, of High Wycombe, found guilty of conspiring to murder by blowing up aircraft.

Four other men, Ibrahim Savant, 27, Arafat Waheed Khan, 26, Waheed Zaman, 23, all of Walthamstow, and Donald Stewart-Whyte, 23, of High Wycombe were found not guilty of being involved in the plot.

Woolwich Crown Court had heard how the trio used a flat in Forest Road, Walthamstow, as a “bomb factory” to make liquid explosives disguised as drinks which would be taken aboard a London to US flight in hand luggage.

Dr Usama Hassan, imam at the Al-Tawhid mosque in Leyton, said: “It is deeply worrying. People are concerned about why Leytonstone and Walthamstow produces kids who want to do these sort of things.

“This fanatical behaviour does not reflect the vast majority of the people in Waltham Forest but it is about the image that is portrayed.

“I grew up in Finsbury Park, and I know it as the home of the Arsenal and the mosques I used to go to when I was younger, but because of Abu Hamza, there are people who are scared to go there because they think it is a hotbed of terrorism - that's the concern for Waltham Forest.”

Dr Hassan, who has worked to tackle extremism and has met senior cabinet figures to discuss the issue, said more needs to be done to engage disaffected youths.

He said: “There needs to be more open discussion, so that these people feel part of the community.

“The council should maybe do more road shows or visits at mosques so we can have more public discussion.”

Chris Robbins, Waltham Forest council leader, said the borough was simply a base for the terrorists to operate from, and there is no evidence of a sustained network of extremists that residents should be concerned about.

Cllr Robbins said: “There could have been a lot of problems following the arrests three years ago, but there hasn't been and I think we can be justifiably proud of the way our community has responded, in the last three years community cohesion has improved.”