Last updated at 11:40, Saturday, 24 November 2012

Armed police swooped on a hotel in Carlisle after reports that a man had been seen with a gun.

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The alert was raised by a member of the public who stopped officers at 4.15am and said a man with a handgun had been seen on Botchergate.

The man was followed from a nearby bar into the Ibis hotel, sparking a huge police operation with armed officers and dogs.

A force spokesman said they cordoned off the area and five men and a woman were arrested.

The six arrested, four from the Middlesbrough area and two from Carlisle, are in custody and helping police with their inquiries.

A search was continuing this morning.

It is not known if any weapon has been found. At the scene at 7am, officers would say only that they were called to an ongoing incident.

Around 20 officers were gathered in the lobby and seven police vehicles, mainly vans, lined the road outside the cinema opposite the hotel.

The force spokesman thanked members of the public for their help in resolving the incident “quickly and securely.”

Hotel manager Miguel Mendes said he had been called in but the police had not told him what they were doing.

First published at 10:10, Saturday, 24 November 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk