ARMED police were called to Hawkinge near Folkestone in the early hours of this morning to tackle a man with a knife (Jo Robertson writes).

Officers were alerted by mental health services staff at 5.55pm yesterday that a 34-year-old man had absconded from the Arundel unit at Ashford's William Harvey Hospital having made violent threats to nurses there.

Various sightings were made of the man on hospital grounds during the evening and searches were carried out, but he was not found.

He arrived at an address in Millfield in Hawkinge at 1am today where his girlfriend and some children were inside. When officers knocked on the door a man appeared armed with a knife.

Specialist teams were deployed to the location and successfully negotiated for the occupants, including a number of youngsters, to leave the address.

A short time later a man was arrested within the house and a knife was recovered. A man is currently being detained at Folkestone Police Station.