ARMED police made a dramatic swoop on a flat in Bournemouth after a man was seen in the street with a gun.

Witnesses described seeing the man in the area of Seabourne Road, Southbourne, at around 9pm on Tuesday.

They then said how a swathe of police were sent to the scene.

Later a man and woman were led out of the flat above a car repair garage on the corner of Hosker Road.

One witness, who was in the Manhattan nail bar opposite the scene and asked not to be named, said: “A guy was walking with what looked like to me to be an air rifle.

“I didn’t think much of it, but 10 minutes later there were swarms of police everywhere.”

Ngoc Hoang, who works in the nail bar, added: “Two of my clients said they saw a man holding a gun walking outside.

“I saw six or seven police with guns and dogs and about 10 police cars.”

Alie Gumus, who was working in the Codfather fish and chip shop close to the scene of the drama, said: “There was a lot of police here and they were armed. The road was closed for more than half an hour. They took a woman and a man out.”

A Dorset Police spokesman said yesterday: “At 8.25pm on Tuesday May 29 officers received a report of a man with an air rifle in Parkwood Road.

“No threats had been made.

“Officers, including firearms officers and the force helicopter, attended the area and a 19-year-old man from Bournemouth was arrested on suspicion of possessing a fire arm in a public place and has been released on bail pending further enquiries,” the spokesman added.

Anyone with information about the Tuesday evening incident should contact Dorset Police on 101, quoting incident number 29:494.