FOUR men have been arrested after armed police swooped in Ramsbottom this morning.

The officers and the police helicopter were scrambled following reports of a disturbance involving weapons in Dundee Lane at 8.35am. 

Following a search by teams of officers with sniffer dogs near the car park of the former Old Dun Horse pub and Specialist Operations Branch, three men were arrested. A fourth man was arrested a short time later.

Detective Inspector Simon Edgington, of GMP’s Bury Borough, said: “Given the nature of the report, people in the area will have noticed a highly visible response from locally based officers and officers from our Specialist Operations Branch.

“As a result of the swift response by police, four men have now been arrested in connection with the incident and will be questioned by detectives later today.

“Our investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident is underway and I would urge anybody with information about what happened to contact police.”

An eyewitness said she had seen officers "digging in the ground" behind the Dundee United Reformed Church. 

However, a North West Ambulance Service spokesman confirmed that no one had been hurt.

She said: "We were called to assist with a police incident this morning, but we have now been cleared from the area with no patients."

Armed officers were also seen near the Red Hall Hotel on Manchester Road, where there were reports that a white van had been stopped by police.

Witnesses spotted other officers at the MC Motor garage on Kay Brow.