- NEW: Armed officers and military bomb disposal units are at the scene
- Police close both lanes of the M6 toll motorway near Birmingham, England
- Police are investigating allegations against a passenger, the bus company says
London (CNN) -- Armed police have closed a major motorway near Birmingham, England, after an incident involving a passenger traveling on a bus from the northwestern town of Preston to London.
Staffordshire police described the unusual move to CNN: "There is major ongoing police-led incident on M6 toll motorway near Lichfield. Both lanes remained closed off."
A spokeswoman for Megabus confirmed that one of its vehicles was involved, with 48 people booked on the journey.
"We are assisting police with their inquiries into an allegation made against a passenger," the spokeswoman said.
Passengers were told to evacuate the bus by police who included armed officers. Police in Britain are not usually armed when they respond to incidents.
 M6 Toll road terror alert M6 Toll road terror alertFootage from the scene shows the bus pulled over on to the hard shoulder, with the passengers sitting in rows on the tarmac where they were questioned by officers.
Emergency vehicles can be seen lined up along the highway.
ITN reporter Rupert Evelyn, who is at the scene, told CNN a woman with a small child was among the passengers led off the bus.
A couple of military bomb disposal units are on standby, he said.
It is not yet known what caused the alert, but the police response appears to have been significant and swift.
The incident comes at a time of heightened security in the United Kingdom as it prepares for the opening of the London Olympic Games this month.
Earlier Thursday, police in London arrested five men and a woman on terror charges. They are being questioned, and a number of addresses are being searched.
The operation in London is not linked to the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Metropolitan Police said.
CNN's Laura Perez Maestro contributed to this report.
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