Bedford: Police attend flats after reports of armed man

The incident was contained in a single flat in Bury Court on Church Lane, Bedfordshire Police said

Two men have been arrested as police negotiators spent most of the day dealing with reports of a man with a firearm at a high rise block of flats.

Officers were called to Bury Court in the Goldington Green area of Bedford at 06:00 GMT.

Police said the situation had been confined to one address and it was not being treated as "a hostage situation".

Several properties were evacuated, while a police tweet posted at about 17:20 said no-one had been injured.

Negotiators had been speaking to a number of people inside this single flat, the force added.

One man handed himself into police in the afternoon.

Another man who had remained inside the flat handed himself in shortly before 18:00.

Bedfordshire Police said the incident had "come to a safe conclusion".

Det Ch Supt Dee Perkins said it had been a "long and challenging operation"

Earlier in the day, Bedfordshire Police said several flats had been evacuated and road closures were put in place along Cricket Lane, Church Lane, Goldington Green and Queens Drive.

Det Ch Supt Dee Perkins said: "This has already been a long and challenging operation and alongside our partners, our officers and staff will continue their hard work as we now enter the recovery phase.

"Any incident involving firearms is deeply concerning and our detectives are thoroughly investigating what happened.

"I would like to thank the other residents of Bury Court and the wider community for their ongoing support, patience and resilience."

The force said there would be a visible police presence in the area for the days ahead.

Bedford Borough Council representatives had worked to find alternative accommodation for residents who had been asked to leave their homes, the force said.

Bedford Cricket Club was opened for use by the emergency services.