Durham Police armed officers respond in Bishop Auckland

Image source, Google

Image caption, The incident happened at Bishop Auckland market place

Armed officers were dispatched after reports a man was carrying a weapon, only for them to discover it was a plastic sword.

At around 01:30 GMT on Saturday, police received reports of an armed man in Bishop Auckland town centre.

A concerned taxi driver had called 999 and reported the man who was "wandering around" the market area with a sword.

However, when officers arrived they found it was not quite the weapon they believed it to be.

But they did find him carrying a plastic sword and allegedly carrying a quantity of amphetamine.

Durham Police said they were in the area within 10 minutes and had sent both armed and unarmed officers.

He had left the marketplace by then, but was later found near Bishop Auckland General Hospital where he was arrested.

A man has since been charged with possession of a Class B drug and is due to appear at Newton Aycliffe Magistrates' Court on 9 February.

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