Armed response after gun alert
ARMED police blockaded a Runcorn street after a gunman was allegedly sighted in the area.
Officers carrying machine guns descended on Davenport Row in Halton Lodge after receiving reports at 3.08pm on Monday.
The Weekly News was at the scene to take exclusive pictures of the moment a suspect was arrested.
Police ushered the man into a patrol car at around 5pm.
He was dressed in black trainers, socks and shorts with a grey hooded top with the hood pulled up and over his face.
The suspect had arrived at the scene a few minutes earlier wearing a black T-shirt, before speaking to officers and then donning the hoodie.
It has since been confirmed that the weapon is now believed to have been an imitation firearm.
Halton Lodge Avenue was shut to traffic during the incident, and crowds congregated despite the creeping October chill near Grangemoor to watch the drama while a helicopter hovered overhead.
Multiple police vehicles descended on the street including BMW X5s from the North Wales And Cheshire Alliance Armed Policing Unit.
Officers in tactical gear carrying Heckler And Koch G36 rifles took up positions close to a fence and across the road behind their vehicles.
On Tuesday, a Cheshire police spokesman said the 27-year-old suspect had been released under investigation. He said no shots had been fired and no-one was injured.
Officers are now looking into whether the imitation firearm could be linked to any other investigations.
In a statement issued at the time of the incident, a Cheshire police spokeswoman said: “At 3.03pm on October 28, police were called to reports of a man believed to be in pos
● session of a firearm on Davenport Row in Runcorn. Armed officers along with air support are making a search of the area to locate the man.
“Anyone with any information is asked to contact Cheshire police on 999 quoting IML 550604.”