LIVE Armed police descend on Oldham high street as traffic brought to standstill - updates

Armed police are on the scene following an incident which has brought Oldham town centre to a standstill this evening (July 7).

One of the town's busiest roads has been closed off, with a police cordon in place. Tape is blocking a large section of Yorkshire Street, close to the junction with Horsedge Street.

Members of the public are advised to avoid the area and make alternative travel arrangements where possible. The nature of the incident has not yet been confirmed by emergency services.

Pictures from the scene show traffic having been brought to a standstill with a large number of police including armed officers responding to an incident. Greater Manchester Police (GMP) has been contacted for further information.

A Stagecoach bus has been stopped on the high street. A black 4x4 vehicle can also be seen, which has suffered significant damage.

This is a breaking news story and we will be bringing you updates as we get them in the live blog below

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A GMP spokesperson said

We are currently responding to an incident in Oldham after two cars were involved in a road traffic collision on Yorkshire Street.

The occupants of both cars exited their vehicles and officers believed they chased each other on foot brandishing weapons.

Specialist officers have been deployed to the area to conduct initial enquiries.

We understand the concern this will cause in the surrounding areas and further afield across Oldham as we received a number of reports from members of the public to alert us to this incident.

We have put a cordon in place on Yorkshire street and Horsedge street