ARMED police were called to an address in Radcliffe this evening after a man brandished a handgun at paramedics.

The ambulance crew responded to reports that a man had fallen in Coronation Gardens at around 5.30pm.

But the male threatened them with a weapon when they went to help him.

The ambulance crew then withdrew from the address and armed police arrived to deal with the situation.

The officers spoke with the male, who confirmed he was 'safe and well', before removing BB guns from the address.

The man has been arrested but checks on his health will also be made.

Police said that the situation had been fully resolved and reassured the public that the incident is in no way related to the Manchester Arena terror attack.

Residents in the area saw the episode unfold.

They told The Bolton News that at least ten armed officers were at the scene, as well as a police dog handler.

Ian Mort, 53, said: "It was chaos , there were police in riot gear, dogs. I have never seen such a big police presence, not round here. I have seen a few early morning raids, but I’ve never seen anything like that in all my life.

Andy Ryder , 40 added: "The big concern was that it was linked to the terrorism. When a load of armed police turn up armed with battering rams, dogs and allsorts after what happened in Manchester you think ‘terrorism’. But if you live in a place like this  you think it’s a domestic or a drugs bust."

Bernie Chew, 48,  said there was a ‘very heavy’ police presence, but praised the way officers dealt with the situation.

She said: “ To be fair to them I think they did a good job, things like that can go wrong. Whatever it was they handled it really well, they kept everyone back and kept everyone safe. They were very calm – and they were in control."

She continued: "I didn’t automatically think terrorism. I thought it might be something to do with fire arms, but didn’t automatically think it was to do with terrorism, not for one second."