A BOY was arrested by armed response officers following reports of an individual allegedly seen with a firearm.

Essex Police were called to Market Road in Chelmsford yesterday after 5.15pm.

Armed response officers were deployed within minutes and detaiedn a boy close to Chelmsford railway station.

Force control room operators monitored CCTV and worked with uniformed officers to monitor the situation and locate the suspect.

Early inquiries found the alleged firearm to be an imitation and the public has been told not to be concerned.

The boy has since been released on bail and the police investigation remains ongoing.

Chief Insp Paul Ballard said “We responded quickly to this incident with our force control room operators monitoring the situation on CCTV, allowing our uniformed officers to locate the suspect and our armed response officers to detain and arrest him.

“I understand that this is concerning to residents in Chelmsford and that they may be worried after reading about this incident in the news this morning.

“Early enquiries have indicated that the firearm which was seized is an imitation. This investigation remains ongoing.”