ARMED police, who boarded a train at Bournemouth railway station amid reports a passenger was carrying a sword, found the offending item was actually an umbrella.

Dorset Police confirmed they attended the station on Wednesday evening, after a concerned member of the public raised the alarm.

According to witnesses, the umbrella had been designed to look like a samurai sword.

A Dorset Police spokesman confirmed: "At 8.07pm on Wednesday, September 21, Dorset Police received a report that a person had been seen on a train with a sword.

"Acting on the information given, armed officers attended Bournemouth train station and boarded the train.

"It was established that the item in question was in fact an umbrella.

"The report to Dorset Police had been made with good intent as the umbrella did look very much like a sword in a cover."