Man 'with bladed weapons' arrested on suspicion of kidnap and Royal Oldham Hospital 'put on lockdown' as armed police swoop outside A&E

A man 'in possession of bladed weapons' was arrested on suspicion of kidnap tonight after armed officers raced to the Royal Oldham Hospital. Police said the man had 'gained access to a car' outside the entrance to the hospital's accident and emergency unit.

Greater Manchester Police described the man as being 'armed' and said he was 'detained safely' after specialist armed response officers were called. There have been no reports of any injuries.

Unconfirmed reports on social media suggested the hospital was put into 'lockdown', with no one allowed to enter or leave for a time, until the incident was resolved. The Manchester Evening News has contacted the hospital for comment.

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In a statement tonight, GMP confirmed the incident 'has been contained' and said there was no threat to the public in the area. It followed an earlier incident at an address nearby - and police said they attended the hospital 'following intelligence relating to the same male'.

A witness at the hospital said she saw seven or eight police cars outside at 6.30pm. Officers were parked in the car park outside the main entrance to the hospital, she added.

The witness told the M.E.N.: "I got locked in my room earlier. It was about 6pm. There were riot vans and could hear a helicopter flying over and everything, but it seemed to be over really quickly."

A visitor to the hospital told the M.E.N. he saw a man being arrested. "I just parked up and saw loads of armed police," he said. "They all had machine guns and then pushed him over the car and arrested him. It seemed to be over and done with in about 20 minutes."

In the statement, GMP said: "On Tuesday 30 August