A man has been arrested after a large police presence, armed police and a helicopter descended on Newton Aycliffe.

Police and armed police were seen near the Pease Way Medical Centre shortly before 9am on Thursday. A police helicopter was also seen circling overhead.

Durham Police had been called out after reports of a disturbance at a property on Winterburn Place. The suspect was later found in another premises on Pease Way, where he was arrested on suspicion of affray, criminal damage, and possession of a bladed article.

A statement from Durham Constabulary read: "Police were called to an address on Winterburn Place, Newton Aycliffe shortly before 9am, yesterday (July 25) following reports of a disturbance. Officers attended the area and located the suspect inside a premises on Pease Way.

"The 44-year-old was arrested on suspicion of affray, criminal damage, and possession of a bladed article. He has since been released on bail while further enquiries are carried out."

Join our County Durham WhatsApp community

Join our County Durham WhatsApp community for all the latest news County Durham news sent direct to your phone.

To join you need to have WhatsApp on your device. All you need to do is choose which community you want to join, click on the link and press 'join community'.

No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the ChronicleLive team.

We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners.

If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.

If you’re curious, you can read our privacy notice.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN