UPDATE: Brighton city centre road closed over gun fears
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A MAN was arrested by armed police after walking into Brighton’s Royal Mail delivery office with a gun.
Sussex Police were called around 10.45am after a man walked into the office in North Road, Brighton, with what was believed could be a gun.
Officers located his car, parked nearby in North Road, and closed the road between Queen's Road and Spring Gardens as a precaution while it was searched.
A man was then arrested on suspicion of possession of a firearm and the road was quickly reopened yesterday morning.
A Royal Mail spokeswoman said: “We can confirm that Brighton Delivery Office was evacuated for a short time today on police advice. This followed the arrest of a man under suspicion of possessing a firearm.
“The office is now open as normal again. We are cooperating with the police investigation.”
A spokesman for Sussex Police confirmed that the incident was not believed to be teroor related in anyway.
Thomas Moyes watched things unfold from his office with colleagues. He said: “There were police officers everywhere when we looked out the window. That caught our attention but shortly after things were cleared up.”
Charley Ralphs works in nearby GAK. She said: “Everything happened really quickly. The road reopened at around 11.30am.”
Tension is already high following Monday night’s terror attack at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, which claimed the lives of 22 people.
Armed police have been patrolling Brighton City Centre, particularly at the railway station after the threat level in the UK was raised to critical, meaning another attack is believed to be imminent.
Assistant Chief Constable Steve Barry, Head of Operations Command, said: “Senior officers are meeting daily to discuss any potential emerging issues and concerns and these meetings will continue for the foreseeable future.
“The current threat level applies to the whole of the UK and not any specific area.
“There are a number of public events taking place in Surrey and Sussex this weekend and the coming days and we are liaising with event organisers to ensure that venues have appropriate security measures in place.
“We are doing all we can to keep people safe, liaising closely with partners and continuing our increased policing presence across both Sussex and Surrey. At this stage there are no requirements to deploy armed troops across Surrey or Sussex to deploy under police command to free up our armed resources.
“However this remains an option for us if needed.” If you see anything suspicious – anything out of place or unusual - trust your gut instinct and call the Anti Terrorist Hotline 0800 789321 or 999 in an emergency.”
