POLICE rushed to a town centre after shoppers and store staff reported a man wandering around brandishing a knife.

Officers have confirmed that a 35-year-old man who was wanted for recall to prison was later arrested in Cinderford town centre in connection with Wednesday (June 5) morning’s incident.

A woman who was in the town centre shortly after 9am said she had seen a man wandering around with a knife.

“I was in Cinderford this morning and saw him with the knife, (the) lady in the charity shop phoned the police and was told to lock her door, (and) he then wandered off down by the Triangle,” she posted.

Other posts said the knifeman had waved the weapon around in newspaper shop McColl’s and Boots The Chemist.

Police chiefs have reassured residents that the man arrested for allegedly brandishing a knife has been taken off the streets.

With knife crime in the media spotlight, many took to social media to urge each other to lock their doors.

But police said on the day that residents had nothing to fear from the arrested man.

It says: “We know there are a lot of concerns about the incident in Cinderford this morning and want to reassure everyone that it has been resolved successfully. We received a number of calls about a man wandering around with a knife.

“Thanks to information from the public we were able to locate him swiftly and take him into custody. We also recovered a knife.

“The man, who is 35 years old, is wanted on recall to prison so will not be returning to the community for some time.

“No-one was injured during the incident, and we would like to thank everyone for their help and co-operation.”

If anyone has concerns about individuals or crimes being committed in the community they are urged to contact their neighbourhood policing team or 101.