ARMED police surrounded a house in Darlington as two streets in the town were cordoned off.

Surtees Street and Wilson Street were closed on Saturday.

Several armed officers stood outside a house on Surtees Street.

The Northern Echo:

At 6.45pm, a man came out of the house with his arms raised as he walked towards the armed officers.

Minutes later a woman came out and was searched by police.

A second woman emerged and was also searched. Both were then allowed to leave the cordoned off area.

Another young man then left the terraced house.

Four people - two men and two women - were allowed to leave the house without being arrested. One man was taken away by officers.

Just after 7pm, four armed police officers entered the house to carry out a search. They left the property a short time later.

An officer with a sniffer dog then entered the house to search the premises.

The cordon was lifted just before 7.30pm after the armed officers left the scene.

It would appear that one person was arrested and all the other occupants of the property were allowed to leave once they had been searched by the armed officers.