Armed police swoop on quiet cul-de-sac

Man removed from house in action some witnesses deemed excessive

The peace of a quiet suburban street in Dundee was shattered yesterday afternoon as armed police swooped on a house.

Witnesses described seeing five or six police vehicles including SUVs and vans screech down Berwick Drive and on to The Elms in Ballumbie in the north east of the city at around 1pm.

Just a stone’s throw away from Ballumbie Primary School and Braeview Academy, the incident left residents in shock as the drama unfolded in front of them.

At least three officers armed with machine guns were seen outside the address on The Elms, and “appeared to be negotiating” with a man inside, who was described as around 40 years old.

Police later confirmed the incident involved just one man who was safely detained and taken to hospital.

One witness, who identified himself as Bernard, said: “As well as a dozen regular officers, there were three armed officers with big machine guns with masks and helmets. It looked like they were trying to get a guy out of the house.

“It was like they were negotiating with him but he wouldn’t leave. He was just standing at the window.”

Bernard added that one of the officers present had “what looked like a C02 canister”.

Many residents felt the incident was an overreaction to the situation.

An unnamed resident spoke of his shock saying: “It was much ado about nothing I think.

“The police came running down from all the vehicles parked up Berwick Drive and on The Elms so I thought it must be serious.

“There were dogs there too so pretty much every resource you could imagine.

“After a while they took the man away calmly so I don’t know what it was all about.

“To me, to have machine guns seemed over-the-top to say the least.”

It is believed the man detained in the incident does not reside on the street.

A spokesman for Police Scotland said: “Police Scotland attended at The Elms after concern for a man at 1.15pm today.

“He was safely detained and taken to hospital.”

As well as a dozen regular officers, there were three armed officers with big machine guns with masks and helments. WITNESS

Pictures: Brendan Malone. Police on the scene at around 1pm yesterday.