Two held in armed raid

Armed police laid siege to a Norton Canes housing estate today as officers raided a house as part of a drugs operation.

Roads surrounding Red Lion Avenue in the village were blocked off shortly after 7am as armed officers forced their way into a house on the street.

Two men have been arrested and a gun was recovered from the house.

A small quantity of drugs was also seized. Neighbours watched from their windows as the police, carrying sub-machine guns, stood guard outside the address.

The raid followed a tip-off to the police about drugs activities at the property as well as the presence of a gun.

Detective Chief Inspector Pete Wyatt, of Chase division, said: "Acting on community intelligence, officers from Staffordshire Police have carried out an armed drugs operation in Norton Canes this morning.

"We would like to thank residents in the area for their intelligence and we would like to reassure people that we will positively act on all corroborated information with a view to allaying public fears.

"We would urge people who have any information on suspicious activity or criminality in their area to contact police."

Emma Stanley, spokesman for the force, confirmed two men had been arrested.

One resident, from Red Lion Avenue, who didn't wish to be named, said: "I couldn't get out of the estate this morning to take my wife to work. All the roads were blocked off.

"I could see officers standing in the street with guns on their arms. I have lived on the estate since it was built 40 years ago and I have never seen anything like this before."