Blackburn home raided as men arrested on suspicion of firearm offences

Five police vehicles were seen arriving at a home in Manor Road at 4pm on Thursday.

Officers then raided the property searching for items relating to a firearms investigation.

Earlier in the day a 45-year-old and 61-year-old man were arrested in Walton-le-Dale on suspicion of firearm offences.

The arrests and the raid in Blackburn are believed to be connected.

A shocked resident watched the raid from his bedroom window. He said: “I was just home from work when I noticed a lot of commotion going on outside of the house. The next thing I saw was loads of police all going in to a house over the road.

“They were there for hours and nobody knew what was going on.

“A few of us went out into the street and tried to speak to the officers about what was going on, but all they told us was that they were working on information they had received.”

Another resident, who took pictures of the incident, said: “The search teams stayed until very late on Thursday evening and the front door has now been boarded up.”

A police spokesman confirmed that the arrests were made as part of a pre-planned operation which was carried out by armed officers and added that no firearms were discharged.

The two men were remanded into custody yesterday as searches at the address continued.  Assistant Chief Constable Terry Woods said: “Officers have arrested two men on suspicion of firearms offences as part of a pre-planned operation.

“While I appreciate that the presence of armed officers and the nature of the activity may have caused some concern, I would stress that the safety of both the public and our officers was paramount.

“I would also like to reassure people that there is no ongoing threat to the wider community.

“Officers will remain at the address for some time while searches are carried out and we will have extra patrols in both areas as reassurance.

“If anyone has any concerns I would ask them to approach one of these officers or to call 101.”