RESIDENTS of a busy Ipswich street were today getting back to normal after their road was once again at the centre of a suspected armed siege.

Naomi Cassidy

RESIDENTS of a busy Ipswich street were today getting back to normal after their road was once again at the centre of a suspected armed siege.

Armed police swooped on Norwich Road after getting reports of gunmen in an alleyway - there were reports they had entered a building on the road.

The incident happened around 5.15pm on Saturday and the area was cordoned off while officers - including the dog unit - conducted a search of the property.

A spokeswoman for Suffolk police said: “We were called to an address in Ipswich following reports received at 5.15pm that two males thought to be armed entered the premises on Norwich Road.

“A full search of the premises and surrounding area was completed but officers but there was no trace of the two males who had reportedly entered the property.”

Scores of people crowded the street in a bid to find out what was happening and police - some of whom were armed -had to seal the road off at its junctions with Anglesea Road and Berners Street.

One eye-witness, who did not want to be named, claimed she saw a man in Norwich Road holding a gun to a girl's head.

The police helicopter was also scrambled to help in the search of the area.

Mintu Hoque, an employee at the Maharani restaurant in Norwich Road, said: “There is so much that goes on in this area now.

“We opened in 1988 and back this area was the heart of Ipswich. It was always busy at night but now everything has changed.

“In the last year there have been a few incidents around here. Maybe it is the mix of cultures. Some of our customers have said they don't feel the area is safe anymore. At the moment business is still very good but it will get worse if customers say they don't feel safe around here.”

Last July the road was closed during an incident involving a man armed with a knife at almost exactly the same place.

Adeeb Alsugair was earlier this year sentenced to five and a half years' imprisonment for stabbing Mohammed Mahmoud.

And last month a man was left with cuts to the head after being attacked in a hairdressing salon on the same road.

The spokeswoman said there will be no further police action in relation to this weekend's incident.

- Do you feel safe in Norwich Road? Write to: Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk