Armed police swoop on Bedford flats after reports of man with a gun

Two people have been arrested after armed police descended on a block of flats in Bedford.

Police were called to reports of a man with a gun at the Bury Court block of flats in Church Lane at around 6am on Sunday morning (November 27).

A ‘small number’ of nearby flats were evacuated while police contained the incident to a single flat and specialist police negotiators were called in.

At around lunchtime, a man inside the flat handed himself over to police and was arrested.

A second man handed himself into police shortly before 6pm and was also arrested.

Police say there was no one else in the flat and no one was injured.

Detective Chief Superintendent Dee Perkins from Bedfordshire Police said: “This has already been a long and challenging operation and alongside our partners, our officers and staff will continue their hard work as we now enter the recovery phase.

“Any incident involving firearms is deeply concerning and our detectives are thoroughly investigating what happened.

“Finally, I would like to thank the other residents of Bury Court and the wider community for their ongoing support, patience and resilience.

“I know these events will have undoubtedly caused some distress in the local community and I would urge people to reach out to the appropriate agencies for support.

“There will also be a visible police presence in the area for the days ahead to provide reassurance so I would urge people with any information or concerns to make contact with us.”