Armed officers swooped in to arrest a man allegedly seen brandishing a gun in a quiet cul-de-sac this morning.

Residents awoke to police telling them to stay indoors while weapons were trained on a property in Matfield Close on the Stanhope estate in Ashford.

One eyewitness described how the firearms officers cordoned off the area at 6am and remained in a stand-off until 10.30am.

She said: “People couldn’t get in or out of the road to go to work or to school because they told us it was dangerous. I saw people having to get armed escorts to get in or out.

“They had all their guns trained at an address. It was quite scary because this is normally a quiet road.”

The suspect is currently being held in police custody while the inquiry continues.