Britain thwarted a Sydney-style ¡°lone wolf¡± attack just days before it was due to happen, London¡¯s top policeman said on Wednesday, saying his force had foiled five terror plots in the last four months alone.

Britain raised it terrorism alert to the second-highest level in August and last month said it was facing the biggest terrorism threat in its history because of radicalized Britons returning from fighting in Syria and Iraq.

¡°They¡¯ve been very close to going and hurting somebody, badly, or killing them ... within days,¡± London¡¯s police chief, Bernard Hogan-Howe, said in an interview on LBC Radio.

¡°In terms of plots over this last four months really it¡¯s probably five. And we¡¯ve arrested I think it¡¯s about 35 people.¡±

Hogan-Howe said the activity had put a strain on resources and that more funding was needed to address backlogs in retrieving digital evidence to identify such plots.