Three men have been arrested and six imitation firearms recovered in Tameside last night.
Police were called to reports of a man who was believed to be in possession of a knife on Mossley Road in Ashton-Under-Lyne.
As officers were responding to the incident, further intelligence was received that the man was brandishing a firearm.
Specialist armed officers were deployed to the area and three men – aged 50,43 and 26 – were arrested on suspicion of firearms offences. They all remain in custody for questioning.
Six suspected guns, which were later confirmed as BB guns, were recovered at the scene.
Following a search at an address in Mossley a further three BB guns, a crossbow and an axe were recovered.
Inspector Timothy Rudd, of GMP’s Tameside district, said: “Whilst we have now confirmed that the firearm was a BB gun, this does not alter how seriously we must take reports of this nature.
“It is completely unacceptable that weapons were being brandished out in the street in this way, and I appreciate that this was an incredibly frightening situation for members of the public who would have been none the wiser as to whether the weapon was a live firearm or not.
“The public should be reassured that armed response officers quickly responded the situation and we were able to recover the weapons and arrest the suspects.”
