Three men have been arrested and six imitation firearms recovered in Tameside.

Shortly before 8.30pm on Sunday 13 December 2020, 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.

Due to the nature of the report, 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."