THIS was the terrifying moment a Bournemouth man was pinned to Bournemouth railway station platform by armed police - in a case of mistaken identity.

As stunned rail travellers looked on, the 21-year-old was ordered at gunpoint to lie on the ground, searched and handcuffed.

Armed Dorset officers swooped on the station just before 6 pm on Saturday night after receiving information from Hampshire police in connection with an earlier armed incident.

An eyewitness told the Daily Echo: "There was a large group of us queuing for our tickets when an armed response team pulled up outside the station in black police cars.

"There were about ten officers; some of them were armed with handguns and a police dog. We had to get out of their way.

"I heard one officer say don't let anyone off the train, leave the platform.' The exits were all blocked off. The 6.05 pm train from Southampton, which we were waiting to get on, pulled up.

"As soon as the doors opened and the man stepped on to the platform, he was ordered to lie down. His arms were stretched out and his legs crossed.

"Two police officers drew their weapons. After searching his bag they took him into a disabled toilet cubicle, possibly to search him, before several officers escorted him away.

"We were hoping to get on the train to go to Poole, but it moved away and we weren't allowed to board it. At first we heard that it was to do with drugs but then we heard the man may have been carrying a weapon.

"It appeared that the police had got a tip-off; they were communicating on their radios throughout the operation."

A Dorset police spokesman yesterday confirmed that it had been "a case of mistaken identity" and the man had been released without charge.

He added: "Dorset police were advised by Hampshire constabulary of an earlier armed incident in Hampshire.

"A man was identified by a police officer on a train travelling into Dorset. The train stopped at Bournemouth railway station and the man identified was detained by two Dorset police firearms officer just after 6 pm.

"Officers from Dorset police are continuing to be in close contact with the man and his family to ensure they receive appropriate support.

"Enquiries into the circumstances of the arrest are continuing. No shots were fired and no-one was injured."