Armed swoop in gun scare

Armed police swooped on a residential Staffordshire street, close to a primary school and nursery, following reports of a man with a gun.Witnesses saw officers armed with sub-machine guns surround a car in Bridgtown, Cannock.

People in Union Street said they could barely believe what they were seeing as the officers swooped at 12.20pm yesterday.

Four armed officers closed the road and surrounded the H-reg Ford Fiesta XR2i before smashing the windows and removing items from the vehicle.

A witness said officers removed a coat and phone from the car before it was taken away for examination.

A 32-year-old man, believed to be from Featherstone, was arrested but no gun was found.

Union Street is residential and includes the popular Nutwood Nursery with Bridgtown Primary School nearby. Local shop owner and councillor Eddie Smith saw everything from his Cannock Computers business in North Street.

He said: "The first I knew was when my colleague called me over. There were about three police cars and four officers and they had their guns at the ready.

"They sealed off the road and at that point we were quite concerned. They smashed the windows with the butt of the guns and took things out of the car.

"You don't see things like that every day in Bridgtown but it's good to know the police are doing their job."

Another witness said: "They weren't messing around; they meant business."

Dc Kiley Round, of Cannock CID, said: "A 32-year-old man was arrested and is in custody at Cannock police station assisting officers with inquiries. No firearm has been recovered."

By Shaun Lintern