Firthmoor Community Centre, in Darlington, is used to hosting cake decorating classes, fishing clubs, and football tournaments.

It recently had two very different visitors - Special Branch anti-terrorist detectives.

The detectives asked centre manager Martin Landers a series of questions about security of the communal computers.

Police insist the visit, designed to stop extremists using the internet, was routine. Mr Landers said it was anything but routine for his centre.

"They said: 'Nothing to worry about - we're from the anti-terrorist squad," Mr Landers said. "But you try not to worry after that. A couple of them just turned up, one man and one woman. They said the visit was routine - but it's not routine for us.

"There was no specific reason or purpose for the visit. They were just checking our internet access.

"They seemed to be keen on the community access to the building. Who uses the IT suite, how they use it, how we log it, our firewalls, things like that.

"It has prompted me to give more thought to security measures, particularly surrounding how our IT facility is used and what kind of material is, or, could be accessed.

"There was no suggestion anything was going on - but it's not every day we get the anti-terrorist branch down."

Detective Superintendent Neil Malkin, from Durham Police's anti-terrorist branch, said all centres with communal internet access would be visited by officers.

"My officers have been visiting community cafes, internet cafes, and other places, as part of a community engagement strategy," he said.

"It is to ensure members of the public who use these facilities are alerted to the fact the computers can be used by extremists.

"We mean extremists in the broadest sense - whether that be terrorists, animal rights campaigners, anything like that.

"There was nothing particular at Firthmoor - it is about engagement in Darlington and County Durham to make sure people are aware.

"It's about making sure people who run the centres know who is using the computers, and what they are looking at. And, if they think they are being used for extremism, they know who to call."

The programme will run indefinitely around the county.