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Five people have been injured after a man wielding a chainsaw rampaged through a picturesque town in Switzerland this morning.

Schaffhausen was sent into lockdown after the unnamed man - described by police as 'bald, unkempt and dangerous' attacked shoppers - leaving two with serious injuries.

Armed police rushed residents and shoppers to safety after storming the Muller-Beck area shortly before 11am today, where one man was seen with blood streaming down his face.

The attack happened inside an office building on a shopping street in the medieval town on the German border, police said.

Police said they did not believe the incident to be terror-related and are still hunting for the suspect.

(Image: REUTERS)

(Image: REUTERS)

(Image: Twitter)

A shop owner said that a man with a chainsaw was walking the streets in the Old Town, and that pedestrians and residents had been asked to leave shops and apartments.

One witness told Swiss paper Blick: "The police completely sealed off the old town. More and more policemen are coming."

Police spokeswoman Cindy Beer said they had identified the attacker, but did not name him, describing him as bald, unkempt and around 6ft 3in tall.

Pictures from the scene show a man clutching a bloody rag to his head as he walks towards an ambulance.

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(Image: REUTERS)

(Image: AFP) (Image: REUTERS) (Image: KEYSTONE)

Dozens of police and ambulance crew are also picture behind a cordon as they treated the wounded.

Bakery Muller employee Maria Antonocci said: "We said we had to send out all the customers and open the door.

"Because they shut the road. It's all locked up from the Visilab to the Löwengässli.

"The saleswoman is worried. It's weird that something like this happens in Schaffhausen. "

(Image: KEYSTONE) (Image: KEYSTONE) (Image: KEYSTONE) (Image: KEYSTONE)

A spokeswoman for air rescue service Rega told 20 Minuten it had sent two helicopters.

“We have been alerted and therefore assume there are injured people,” she said.

A police spokeswoman said officers were alerted to the incident at 10.39am local time (9.39am BST).

She said: "We can't say exactly what happened at this point.

"We just know that a person wounded several people."

(Image: s_j_kummer/Twitter) (Image: www.alamy.com)

The medieval town, located on the Upper Rhine between the Black Forest and Lake Constance, is a popular destination for holidays and day-trips.

The traffic-free Old Town of Schaffhausen is considered one of the prettiest in Switzerland, on account of its many oriel windows and lavishly painted facades.