Armed police swooped on a trio of joyriders in a car park last Friday after reports one of them had a gun.

Police received reports of three men driving dangerously around the NCP Fairfield Halls car park, one of whom was seen brandishing a green gun.

When police arrested the men, they found out the gun was fake.

Joseph Sullivan, a chef at Croydon College, saw the arrest.

He said: “I saw the police cars coming up through Croydon, they were racing the wrong way up George Street.

“As I pulled out of the NCP car park, they had these three guys up against the wall. There were three police cars and a lot of armed police. Some of them had sub machine guns.

“It’s comforting to know they responded so quickly.”

A police spokeswoman said: “Police were called to Barclay Road on Friday, September 25 at 1.40pm following reports of three IC1 [white] males driving a vehicle dangerously around the car park.

"One of the males was said to be in possession of a green firearm.

“Armed officers attended the scene and three males were stopped.

"The firearm was found to be an imitation and one of the males was later arrested for an unrelated matter.”

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