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A major incident is underway at a leisure complex in the Midlands where two staff members were taken hostage by a man believed to be armed with a sawn-off shotgun at a bowling alley.

Warwickshire Police have confirmed they are dealing with an 'ongoing incident' at Bermuda Park in Nuneaton, and called for people to steer clear.

Six loud bangs were heard after a three-hour standoff at the MFA Bowl, where armed police surrounded the complex.

The business owner said the gunman has been arrested, but it is unclear whether anyone has been injured.

Video taken at the scene appears to show one of the hostages standing outside the building facing armed police, before being taken back inside.

Armed officers have surrounded the buildings, and people inside a neighbouring cinema told Mirror Online that films were halted and doors were locked as the drama unfolded.

Witnesses claim the gunman shouted 'game over' as terrified families fled.

Mehdi Amshar, the chief executive of MFA Bowl, has confirmed that two workers have been taken hostage, and said the alleged gunman is an 'ex-husband or a boyfriend of a member of staff'.

Police negotiators have been addressing the man, and an air ambulance landed at the scene.

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Police have confirmed it is not terrorism-related.

It is happening at MFA Bowl in Bermuda Park, where a worker told Mirror Online before hanging up: "We can't talk now."

It is not known if the man who answered the phone was one of those being held.

Visitor Lloyd Weightman, who was there with his two sons, told the Coventry Telegraph he saw a man with a shotgun at the bowling alley, who told him to "get the f*** out".

He said: "We came out of the changing room and everyone was gone. The place was empty. I thought there must have been a fire alarm of something.

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"We walked to the front door and he came towards me with a shotgun saying 'get the f*** out'."

Mr Weightman, 31, described the gunman as in his mid-40s and about five foot 10.

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Lawrence Hallett, who had been at a family children's party at the alley, told Sky News: "One of the staff came up to us and quietly whispered in my ear to leave and I initially thought it was a fire alarm or something like that and I said 'What's the problem? We are halfway through a game' and he said 'There is a gunman'.

"I looked up and there was a guy, probably 20 or 30 feet away, walking towards us with a sawn-off shotgun sort of slung over his shoulder, if you like.

"I thought it was a joke and panicked a little bit and shouted 'everyone get out', and basically ran, hell for leather, out of the building.

"We then hung around outside for a little while ... we didn't know what to do, what was going on and he came out and swore and said 'what the heck are you guys' ... unslung his gun and went back in again and at that point we backed off to our cars.

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"He was a 40-odd year-old guy, a bit rough around the edges, unshaven etc, etc."

Another witness told the Coventry Telegraph that the gunman had bought a hostage to the front door to ‘show them he’s serious’.

The alley chief executive told Sky News: "All our staff, the rest of our staff, are safe and they made sure that all the customers have left the premises so everybody is in safety, with the exception of the two people who are, we know that are missing and we assume that they are the two that are still inside the premises because the manageress has done the check but those two people are not accounted for."

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Witness Sarah Fleming said a police officer confirmed to her that an armed man was holding hostages at MFA Bowl.

She told Sky News: "We got notification that someone had a shotgun inside the bowling alley.

"We were inside Frankie and Benny's and obviously we went on lockdown, no-one was allowed in or out. Then we had notification from the police that he actually had hostages.

"Everyone has been a bit up in the air, don't know what's going on and obviously there is a lot of children in here as well which has been quite an experience for them.

"So everyone is a little bit scared at the minute."

Carl Lenton was sitting with his family at Frankie and Benny's when it happened.

He told Sky News: "The manager from Frankie and Benny's came round and said we were in lockdown and we have got to stay in and there had been an incident at the bowling alley, a man over there with a gun.

"There were police cars arriving, there was a helicopter, police dogs, armed police stood all around the bowling alley, around the outside of it. It was quite scary at times."

The restaurant was put on lockdown after a manager went to the nearby cinema, where staff confirmed the situation, she added.

Warwickshire Police tweeted: "Officers are currently dealing with an ongoing incident at Bermuda Park, Nuneaton. Please avoid the area."

A force spokesman declined to give any further details.

Cinemagoer Paul Edgington wrote on Twitter that he was 'stuck' inside the building, responding to police: "I'm stuck in the cinema. Are we safe? How long are we expected to be locked down?"

He told Mirror Online that he was watching a film, which was stopped as the drama unfolded.

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He said: "Our film stopped and we were told to all go into one room. The staff locked all the doors and exits."

A woman named Michelle, who works at Frankie and Benny's restaurant, a two minute walk away from the cinema complex, told Mirror Online: "We're on complete lockdown.

"Nobody is allowed in or out and there's loads of police surrounding the building. There's helicopters here too. "People are scared and a bit worried, there's children here too."We're giving people free drinks to help calm the situation."

A spokesman from West Midlands Ambulance Service said: "We were called to Bermuda Park at 3.40pm.

"We currently have an ambulance, two paramedic officers, the Hazardous Area Response Team, and an Emergency Planning Manager at the scene.

"The Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance which was initially dispatched has now cleared and left the scene."

Nuneaton MP Marcus Jones told Sky News: ''It is a situation where I think we need to let the police do their job and I think this is an extremely concerning situation.

''But I have every confidence that Warwickshire Police are capable and are able to deal with what looks like a very difficult situation.''

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