ARMED police swooped on Falmouth town centre last week after two men were reported loading a gun in the main street.

Concerned passers-by called the police after seeing what appeared to be a man loading a rifle in Arwenack Street at around 3.15pm.

Shortly afterwards, the gunman and another man got into a red Jeep which had been parked near to the ice cream van outside Trago Mills and drove off.

Police cars from Falmouth and two armed response vehicles were immediately deployed, taking up positions on key routes into the town.

After searching for the Jeep for over an hour it was spotted by an officer in Kimberley Park Road.

Armed officers forced the vehicle to stop in Margaret Place and ordered the two men at gun point to get out of their vehicle.

The two men, both 21, were ordered to lie on the ground with their hands behind their heads before being searched.

One Margaret Place resident who saw the incident said she did not know what was going on, but went outside to see police pointing a gun at a man who was lying on the ground.

Margaret Knightbridge said: "My husband thought I was joking until he looked outside and saw a white van. They got the man down on the grass and had him face down and then hand-cuffed him. There was no noise, but lots of police cars down there. It was just like watching TV."

On inspection of the weapon by an expert it turned out to be an air rifle and the two men were freed by police without charge.

Inspector Dave Scott condemned the actions of the men saying any call from a member of the public about a potential firearms incident would be taken seriously.

"What can you say to people to discourage such thoughtless behaviour? The moment a member of the public reports an incident like this we have to react to it. If you have to have a firearm, have it inside a cover. A lot of police time and effort was taken looking for this vehicle and making sure they didn't present a risk."

Police spokesman PC Baxter Provan said the member of the public who initially reported the incident did "absolutely the right thing."

The incident comes just over four years after the tragic death of former soldier Antony Kitts who was shot by armed police in Falmouth after he pointed an air rifle at them and refused to put it down.

His death led to an internal police investigation which vindicated the officers involved who said they had been in fear for their lives.