11:08am Monday 22nd April 2013
A SECURITY guard has told how a man with a gun was tackled to the ground at Bolton bus station.
The man was spotted acting suspiciously with a weapon near the Bolton Job Centre on Thursday afternoon. He was seen holding a “very realistic-looking” gun, which was about eight to 10 inches long, before putting it inside his jacket and heading over to the bus station in Moor Lane.
A police community support officer and security guards followed him and wrestled him to the ground, before disarming him.
A container of ball bearings fell out of his pocket while he was being tackled. Police officers then arrived and the man was arrested. They later confirmed the weapon was a BB gun.
One of the security guards, who asked not to be named, said: “The man appeared to be intoxicated and he was observed with a gun. We could not believe it and it was reported to the police on the radio link. As replica guns go it looked very real. We only found out later it was a BB gun, but they are dangerous too.
“When we tackled him to the ground and the ball bearings fell out of his pocket, at first we thought it was a bomb.
“People did not know what was going on as he put the gun in his pocket, but we didn’t know what might happen and couldn’t take the risk that he might do something with it.“ The incident happened at 3.45pm and the bus stand was cordoned off for a few hours while investigations took place.
A 37-year-old man has since been bailed until June 10, pending further inquiries.
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