Stoke Bridge in Ipswich was closed while police responded to reports a man had been spotted carrying an axe.

Officers swooped on the area with witnesses saying they saw police pointing tasers at the suspect.

A police spokesman said they were called at around 11.30pm yesterday to reports of a man who had just got off a bus and was carrying an axe.

"He was not threatening members of the public, however, when officers attended the scene he refused to comply with requests to put the axe down," a police spokesman said.

"To ensure the safety of all persons present and to safely detain him he was tasered and arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon."

Multiple police units were seen in the area, with motorists and pedestrians warned to stay away from the scene.

No-one was injured in the incident and the male suspect, who was in his 30s, was medically assessed and released into the care of his family, police said. Officers confirmed the incident was not terror related.

One witness, who had intended to walk over the bridge from Cardinal Park but was stopped by police, said: "Can't believe I saw a man on Stoke Bridge tonight holding what looked like an axe with several police officers pointing tasers at him. Don't know what came of it, but shocking to see in Ipswich.

"There was a man holding what looked like a rather large weapon and two police officers pointing tasers/guns at him."

Another witness added: "I was walking along the docks coming towards Stoke Bridge and as I neared the end I saw a police car pull up and both officers jumped out. They shouted 'put it down' and a few seconds later a large police van turned up with further officers.

"Two officers were aiming what I assume were tasers at him as you could see the infra red dot."