FOUR men were being questioned after a dramatic armed police raid on a flat in the Charminster area of Bournemouth.

Eight police vehicles, armed officers and a handler with a sniffer dog went to the premises and the area was temporarily sealed off around the junction of Charminster Avenue and Gresham Road.

Shocked residents saw the quartet being led outside in handcuffs. They were taken to Poole police station to be quizzed by detectives.

An eyewitness said: “We didn’t hear any sirens. They came quietly and went in with a door rammer. My neighbour said: ‘You want to get out there quick – they’ve got guns.’ It’s normally very quiet. This is the most exciting thing that’s ever happened.”

A spokesman for Dorset Police said after the arrests: “Armed officers executed a warrant under the Firearms Act at a flat in Charminster Avenue, Bournemouth, just after noon.

“To ensure public safety and enable the execution of the search warrant, a 100 metre cordon was set up. Police officers arrested four men at the flat.

“Two come from Bournemouth, the third from London and the fourth from Essex.

“The four men, aged 22, 32, 33 and 50, are being questioned. The police cordon has been lifted and the road outside the flat reopened.”