'Gun' seized from man in A&E waiting room

A 31-year-old man was arrested and was being questioned in Bury St Edmunds after the "security incident" at the town's hospital

A man has been arrested after reports of someone with a weapon in an A&E waiting room.

Police were called to West Suffolk Hospital's emergency department in the early hours of Friday morning.

The department had to be shut between 02:45 and 03:15 BST due to the "security incident".

A police spokesperson said an imitation firearm had been seized, a 31-year-old man had been arrested on suspicion of carrying a replica gun.

He was being questioned at the police investigation centre in Bury St Edmunds.

"It is not believed the weapon was held in public by the suspect or used in a threatening manner," a Suffolk Police spokesperson said.

Dr Ewen Cameron, chief executive for the West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, said: "A security incident occurred in our emergency department at around 3am this morning, which was dealt with quickly and safely thanks to our security and emergency department teams and the rapid response of the Suffolk Constabulary."

A spokesperson for the trust said no patients, visitors or staff were harmed.