ARMED police forced their way into a flat in Bournemouth where a man had allegedly been stabbed.

Specialist police negotiators were called to Wootton Gardens at 5am on Friday morning. 

They had been tasked to help a woman - reportedly armed with a knife - work with officers after she refused to leave the property. 

During the incident, a 53-year-old man from Bournemouth allegedly suffered stab wounds. 

His injuries were not believed to be life-threatening and he was taken to Poole hospital for further treatment.

Uniformed officers cordoned off the immediate area of the street, located off Old Christchurch Road.

Members of the armed unit waited patiently outside while the negotiators worked to talk the woman from the flat. 

Shortly after 8.30am, officers forced their way into the property, launching deafening firecrackers and shouting for someone inside to hold up their hands.

A few moments later officers emerged with a woman who was put into the back of a police van and escorted from the site.

A spokesperson for Dorset Police said: “Officers were able to access the property and a 36-year-old Bournemouth woman has been arrested and taken to hospital with minor injuries.”

A neighbour at the same property, who asked not to be named, said he was awoken early by an unfamiliar sound. He went back to sleep and later woke to go to the gym only to be faced with armed police at his door. 

He said: “There has been one or two raids down this road before but it is quite unusual.”

Another man, Akos Major, who works locally for a housing company, told the Daily Echo he regularly has to let police into properties where there are concerns over drugs and welfare. 

“But I have never seen anything quite this serious before,” he said.

“Sometimes I have to open the door for the police because people have stolen stuff or there are drug problems. A few months ago someone died from an overdose nearby.”

A police spokesman later confirmed that a 36-year-old woman from Bournemouth was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.