Simon Gordon says he was practising scene with housemate when 15 officers swooped on their home to investigate reports of man begging for his life

Armed police who surrounded a London home after reports of a man begging for his life discovered two actors who had been rehearsing an emotional scene for a West End audition.

Aspiring actor Simon Gordon was preparing for a role with fellow actor and housemate Joel Harper-Jackson at their home in south-east London when they heard a knock on the door.

Simon Gordon (@SiGordon) Just had a knock at the door from the armed police. 15 men with automatic assault rifles surrounding our house,... http://t.co/LvvYuIG1gw

In a post on Facebook, Gordon said he found “15 men with automatic assault rifles surrounding our house, plus a few casual snipers in the garden. Police had reports that there was a firearm at this address and that someone was pleading for their life. Turns out the neighbours overheard Joel Harper-Jackson and I rehearsing a scene for an audition tomorrow.”

Gordon was preparing for an audition for the character Gerry Goffin, in the Carole King West End musical Beautiful at the Aldwych theatre, which Harper-Jackson is starring in. “If I don’t get the job now at least we’ll have a story for the Graham Norton couch eh?” he wrote.

He later joked on Twitter that he would have found it difficult to explain to his agent if he had been arrested and missed the audition.

Simon Gordon (@SiGordon) If i'd been locked up my 1 phone call would have been to lovely @wintersons ...'uhh i wont be making that audition' http://t.co/LaGK5CpWU0

Gordon said the police had initially been very hostile until they realised the error. “We got a really aggressive knock at the door,” he told the Evening Standard. “Joel opened it and there were five policemen with shields and massive guns. They were aggressive to begin with. My heart was racing. We felt really guilty for some reason – even though we knew we hadn’t done anything.”

Gordon explained the scene he was preparing, portraying King’s songwriter husband, was a highly charged piece. “It is quite a heated scene where the character breaks down,” he said. “It’s all in American accents. Our window must have been open. I can see how that can be misconstrued.”

A Met police spokesman said: “We called at 11.25pm following reports of a firearms incident. Armed officers attended. It transpired that there was no offence and no arrests were made. No firearm was found.”