A leisure centre was put into lockdown after a man was seen with a 'gun'.

Police were called after the man was spotted walking around Perdiswell near the old park and ride site.

A spokesman from West Mercia Police said officers were called at 9.35am today to a report of a man carrying a firearm into a wooded area in Bilford Road, Worcester.

A thorough search has been conducted in Bilford Road and the wider area.

The man has not been located however officers have recovered evidence of damaged cans believed to have been shot at by an air rifle.

Inspector Lee Page said: "We are now satisfied there is no ongoing risk to the public, however we will be carrying out additional reassurance patrols in the area."

Sarah Khan, who was walking her dog with a friend, saw a man emerge with a gun from the allotment area near Perdiswell golf course and alongside Barbourne Brook.

She said: “He just came out of the allotment area and started walking towards us.

“He had this huge gun under his arm and a can of beer in his other hand.

“My friend said the gun had a silencer on the end but there was nothing else. There wasn’t any kind of protection on the gun.

“He’d obviously been drinking.

“He was unshaven and kind of scruffy looking, he had dark clothes on and his hood up. You couldn’t see his face very well.

“He just looked at us and smiled, it was more of a smirk and then he just carried on walking.

Mrs Khan then grabbed her dog and started to walk away.

She said: "I thought I just need to get away and we just walked quicker, quicker and quicker.

“I didn’t know what he was going to do, I just kept looking behind me as we walked away.

“My friend rang the police and we just told everybody we saw, warning them of what we had seen.

“How on earth can you walk around like that, it’s not normal.

“It took us a bit of time to register. We were just in complete shock.

“We never see anybody around here when we are walking our dogs so it was strange anyway but something is obviously not right if you're walking around with a gun.

“You just don’t know what is going to happen, especially what is going on in the world at the moment.

“He could have done anything.”

Rob Tyler, the manager of Perdiswell Leisure Centre, said: "At 10am this morning, there was an incident outside the leisure centre where a member of the public claimed somebody had a firearm.

"It's now being dealt with by police." 

Despite initial reports, Perdiswell Primary School has confirmed it was not in lockdown during the incident.