LONDON — British police say the London Bridge attackers wore fake suicide belts to create "maximum fear" as they carried out their rampage.

The Metropolitan Police released photographs on Sunday (June 11) of the blood-splattered belts, which were made from plastic water bottles wrapped in duct tape.

Attackers Khuram Butt, Rachid Redouane and Youssef Zaghba wore the belts when they mowed down pedestrians on London Bridge then stabbed people in nearby Borough Market on June 3. They killed eight people before being shot dead by police.

Police Commander Dean Haydon said the attackers may have worn the belts because they planned to take hostages.

In the news release, Mr Haydon, who is leading the investigation, said: "I have not seen this tactic in the UK before where terrorists create maximum fear by strapping fake explosives to themselves.”

He also said that all three of the attackers wore the leather belts and that anyone who saw them “would have thought they were genuine”. “It is hard to speculate what the motive was for wearing the belts, Mr Haydon said. “It could be that they had plans to take the attack in to a siege situation or it might be that they saw it as protection from being shot themselves.”

He added: "It makes the bravery of those police officers and members of the public who tackled the terrorists even more remarkable. The belt would have been visible to them and if you are fighting back or aiming a shot at someone wearing the device you would clearly be very aware that you could be caught in an explosion." 

The police are still appealing for witnesses as they piece together details of the attack. AP