ARMED police swooped on a Worcestershire town after a 'vulnerable' man in possession of axes reportedly threatened to hurt himself.

Armed police, along with 14 police vehicles, descended on Load Street, Bewdley, at around 4.40pm yesterday (October 19).

Firearms officers were sent to the scene to protect other people, as the police reportedly attempted to enter the building in Load Street, Bewdley.

Witnesses say the armed police stood down at around 5.40pm and left at 5.50pm. No one has been hurt in the incident and most of the police left at about 6.10pm. 

Chris Wood, from Bewdley, said: "They are going in with one of those door breakers. They are in between Le Petite Cafe and Chills, opposite Tesco.

"I was in the Archers pub having a pint with my mate. Then all of a sudden police cars turned up with their sirens going.

"The officers have machine guns. Another armed car and a dog van have just turned up."

Mr Wood, 52, said he couldn't believe it was happening as the town had an incident with an escaped bull earlier in the week.

"We had about 10 police cars and an armed response team and they ended up shooting the bull.

"We've had two incidents in the space of a week now, what are the chances? You couldn't make it up."

There were eight police cars and four armed response vans at the scene, according to a local resident.

The vulnerable man reportedly left the property, leaving the axes behind, and was later found at 10.15pm.

He was not arrested as no offences had been committed, according to the police.

A search helicopter, a dog van and other police vehicles also responded to the incident.

The bridge was closed along with the High Street, between Load Street and Redhill.

The police reportedly told locals to step back from the scene.

A West Mercia Police spokesman say they had concerns over the welfare of an individual.

The spokesman added: “We were made aware of reports concerning a vulnerable man who was threatening to harm himself in a private residence.

"The individual was in the possession of two axes whilst inside the private residence. 

"These items remained within the property throughout the incident and there was no evidence to suggest these posed a risk to the wider community."

Superintendent Kevin Purcell said: “The incident was resolved yesterday (October 19) evening, nobody was injured and we will work with our partner agencies to ensure the man involved is fully supported.”