Three teens have been arrested after a gun was ‘waved around’ in Chippenham.
Armed police were deployed following the concerning sighting in the Monkton Hill area at around 10.50am this morning (Tuesday).
The reporting person told a 999 call handler that they witnessed a youth “waving around” what they believed was a real firearm.
Searches were carried out in the area, including at Chippenham railway station.
With information suggesting the youths had boarded a Great Western Railway service, a train was held at Bath railway station and searched by officers there.
Three hours later – shortly before 2pm – the suspects were spotted by two PCSOs on patrol in an underground car park in Chippenham town centre.
Officers swooped in and arrested three teenagers – aged between 14 and 15 – on suspicion of possession of an imitation firearm. They were to Melksham custody for questioning.
Local sergeant Jamie Ball said: “The arrest of these three individuals came about as a result of some excellent work by two of our PCSOs.
“Incidents of this nature have the ability to cause serious concern within a community – I’d like to reassure residents that we take reports of this nature extremely seriously and extensive searches and enquiries were carried out as soon as we received the initial report.”
