Machete-wielding man causes evacuation of neighbourhood in Liege, Belgium

Man has been arrested following the incident in the early hours of Sunday morning

Belgium is on high alert following numerous terror attacks throughout Europe (file photo) (Reuters )

A neighbourhood in the Belgian city of Liege was evacuated after a machete-wielding man was spotting in the area, local media say.

Police received a call at around 6:20am local time (5:20am UK time) on Sunday morning saying there was a man with a machete in the Carre neighbourhood of the north-eastern city.

A man in his 20s, reportedly of Turkish origin, was arrested at the scene but was not said to be planning an attack.

According to local newspaper La Venir, he does not have a criminal record and will be referred to the city's prosecutor during the course of the day.

There are no indications at this stage that the incident is connected to terrorism, but it comes the day after a man was shot dead after attacking and wounding two female police officers with a machete in Charleroi in the country's south.

The assailant was reported to have shouted "Allahu Akbar" as he attacked the officers outside the main police station before a third officer nearby shot him dead.

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel cut short his holiday to respond to the incident and said the "initial indications" pointed to it being a terror incident.

On Sunday he said the incident was now being investigated as a terrorist attack.

One of the policewoman sustained minor injuries while the other required hospital treatment for "serious wounds" to her face.

Neither condition was described as "life-threatening".

Belgium remains on high alert following the major terror attack on Brussels' main airport and metro links in March which killed 32 people and left hundreds more injured.

Similarly there have been numerous attacks on neighbouring France and Germany in recent months, including a lorry attack on a Bastille Day crowd in Nice on 14 July which killed 84 people.