ARMED police who made a dramatic raid on a Bournemouth hotel found a gun, drugs and cash, police confirmed on Monday lunchtime.

The Daily Echo exclusively revealed the find on Monday morning.

The incident on Saturday afternoon brought St Michael’s Road on the West Cliff to a halt, with dozens of onlookers watching the drama unfold.

Yesterday, an unnamed worker at the hotel told the Daily Echo: “It was two men.

“There was a gun on the bed with about 20 rounds of ammunition.

“There was a large amount of cocaine – in the kilogramme range.”

He said the gun found was a pistol and a large amount of cash was also there.

“It was pretty crazy and the men are still at large,” he added.

At the height of the incident, which began at about 2pm, around a half a dozen police cars, officers carrying guns and police dogs were on the scene. An ambulance crew was also on standby and the police helicopter circled above.

Police confirmed on Monday that a gun, drugs and cash were found at the hotel. No arrests have yet been made.

A spokesman added: "Enquiries are at an early stage and as yet no one has been arrested. Witnesses or anyone with information are asked to contact Dorset Police in the strictest confidence on 101 quoting incident number 20:267. There is no further information at this time."

Officers remained on the scene into Saturday evening.

Poole Hill Neighbourhood Watch co-ordinator, Norman Decent told the Daily Echo: “We’re trying to better the area and this isn’t good news.”

Residents and guests of the many hotels in St Michael’s Road watched for hours as armed police remained on guard outside St Mick’s Bar, which is part of the St Michael’s Hotel building.

Watching the drama unfold, Attila Tasi, who lives near the hotel, said: “We live on the corner and the officers with their helmets and everything came along and now we can’t go home.

“I’ve never seen anything like this down here before.”

One neighbour added: “We’ve never seen anything on this scale with Armed Response Units.”

As the afternoon went on, it appeared that the investigation was focusing on a first floor room, as camera flashes could be seen from outside.

Residents of the hotel were allowed to come and go, but those approached by the Daily Echo declined to comment.

The Daily Echo made attempts to contact hotel management yesterday in person and on the phone but did not receive a response.