ANTI-TERROR police last night charged a man with receiving weapons training at a camp in the Hampshire countryside this summer.

Yassin Mutegombwa will appear in court today after allegedly receiving terrorism training in woods in the New Forest.

The first charge relates to a period between April 28 and May 1, the second to a period between June 2 and June 4 this year.

Both charges are alleged to have taken place near Matley Wood Caravan and Camping site, Beaulieu Road, Lyndhurst.

It is the first time the charge has ever been used.

A third charge alleges he received terrorism training at a Berkshire farm.

All charges, under the Terrorism Act 2006, allege weapons training for acts of terrorism.

He was one of two brothers charged in connection with an operation targeting the alleged recruitment, training and encouraging of people to take part in terrorist acts, Scotland Yard said.

Both the charged men - Hassan Mutegombwa, 20, charged with procuring funds for terrorism, and Ugandan-born unemployed Mutegombwa, 22, both of Upper Norwood, south east London - were held during a series of raids across London, including a Chinese restaurant, overnight on September 1.

They were charged along with two other men.

Musa Akmet, 47, of Eltham, south east London, is charged with one count of possessing information likely to be useful to a terrorist contrary to Section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000 and possessing a firearm - a 16mm mini flare launcher - without a firearms certificate.

Mustafa Abdullah, 24, , of Stockwell, south London, was charged with one count of possessing information likely to be useful to a terrorist.

The operation also involved anti-terror officers searching an Islamic school in East Sussex.

The charges follow claims, reported in yesterday's Daily Echo, that extremists had taken part in team-building and survival exercises the New Forest.

New Forest West MP Desmond Swayne, who saw military service in Iraq, spoke of his shock at news of the charges: "It's extraordinary. We are used to the New Forest as a gentle tourist and wildlife environment."

He said was it was hard to believe that potential terrorists would stage highly secret activities in an area that was swarming with tourists.

Mr Swayne, a Territorial Army officer, who spent several months in Iraq in 2003, stressed it was important to take the war on terror seriously.

"We've got to be so vigilant. The New Forest is crawling with tourists - there are people out there all the time," he said.

Lindsay Cornish, chief executive of the New Forest National Park Authority, said: "Were the reports to be true, it would show only that the Forest is not immune to the security issues that affect everyone in the country.

"We all need to be aware of those issues and report anything suspicious to the police."

Anti-terror police at Scotland Yard said eight others were still being held last night in connection with their inquiries.

The four men charged will appear before City of Westminster Magistrates in London today.