POLICE were called after a man armed with a machete was reported at a pub.

Officers were called to the Weavers Arms, Brunel Street, Halliwell, on Sunday after they received a report of a man with a weapon.

Officers attended the scene, near Halliwell Road, at around 5.30pm.

A police spokesman said that nobody has been arrested and the man has not yet been traced.

Inquiries are currently ongoing into the incident.

It is believed that armed police attended the scene and one eyewitness reported that four or five vehicles were present.

It was also reported that some form of confrontation between two groups took place in a street not far from the pub.

The confrontation is believed to have led to the man fleeing and heading into the pub for safety.

The police spokesman added that it was not clear if the incident is linked to any ‘groups’.

It is believed that the groups had dispersed and left the area before police arrived at the scene.

The pub is not believed to be linked to any activity that took place on the street.

One eyewitness described the incident as ‘very scary’.

The armed man is not believed to have been in the pub for a long period of time and had left the area before police arrived.

Figures from earlier this month showed that the number of people cautioned or sentenced for knife possession offences last year fell, bucking a national trend.

In the year ending March, 2016, 803 offences were recorded, compared to 786 last year.

Last year a knife amnesty was held across Greater Manchester at police stations for people to surrender their weapons.

The Weavers Arms did not wish to comment when contact by The Bolton News.

Anyone with information or who witnessed the incident should contact police on 101.