A heavy Police presence and an apparent search by officers on Middle Road near Manse Road had Paget residents questioning the nature of a Police operation yesterday.

Midday reports of officers stopping traffic close to the border with Warwick were followed by an area resident who said an officer had been heard demanding the surrender of a firearm.

The resident, on Middle Road between Chapel Road and Manse Road, believed the incident occurred shortly before 12pm.

“I was told something was going on outside — I wasn’t expecting to see anything, but there was a Policeman, and it seemed he was holding a shield.

“The person I was with told me she heard him shouting ‘Put down your gun’. There was a lot of shouting.

“As soon as I saw it, I went back inside.

“The road was blocked and it appeared they were stopping cars. There was obviously something serious going on — it’s pretty worrying when you have kids and there’s something like that going on in your neighbourhood.”

Exact details about the nature of the operation were unavailable last night.