A man is now in custody after he handed himself in following an armed manhunt on Friday.

The man, who was wanted in connection with a string of domestic incidents across the borough, gave himself up to police on Tuesday.

Police carrying rifles swept Newington Green on Friday, shutting roads and keeping residents in their homes from about midday to 8pm.

The man, who was thought to be carrying a bladed weapon, was spotted in the back gardens between Ferntower Road and Pyrland road, which police scoured, but he managed to slip away.

Alarmed residents feared a gunman was on the loose because of the huge presence of armed officers wearing bullet-proof vests.

Patricia Lewis, 30, who lives on the corner of Petherton Road and Ferntower Road and was stuck inside all day, said: “They kicked the door down to get into my garden and were in there for hours. There were SWAT teams running down the road shouting at everyone to get inside. I thought what’s going on, are we in America? It was so frightening.

“I thought whoever they were looking for had a gun and was scared he was going to come into our house. I was worried there would be a firefight and we might get hit in the crossfire. You just don’t know what you’re dealing with. I thought this guy had a shotgun or something.”