Armed officers rushed to a coffee shop after concerned members of the public reported seeing a man wearing ‘SAS clothing’ and carrying weapons.

Essex Police Force Support Unit headed swarmed Kings Coffee House on Chelmsford High Street after the man walked in and put his ‘rifle and a sword’ on a table.

But as officers detained the suspect, they quickly realised the weapons were toys and the man had dressed up for Comic-Con.

Concerned members of the public reported seeing an armed man walking down the high street (Picture: Twitter/Chelm_LPT_C)

A father who witnessed the incident with his son told Essex Live the man was wearing black clothes while carrying ‘what looked like an assault rifle and a 3ft long sword in his backpack’.


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He said: ‘I phoned the police and told then what I saw. I walked onto the high street and saw him coming towards me, and at this point he had the rifle in his hand.’



He said he ‘pushed his son into a shop doorway’ and added: ‘I was petrified, it’s not something you see every day. Even if it was a toy, seeing that is quite scary. There were other people around who were reacting to it.’

A spokesman for Essex Police said: ‘We were called around 10am this morning after a man was seen on Springfield Road with what was believed to be a firearm and a sword.

‘Officers attended and it was quickly established that they were fancy dress items.

A 999 call from a member of the public reporting a suspect with these weapons @EssexPoliceFSU detained the male & they were established to be just toys as the male was attending Comic-Con! Suspect given suitable advice!@EssexPoliceUK @EPControlRoom #Weapons #BetterSafeThanSorry pic.twitter.com/JKqXtLeK67 — Chelmsford LPT C Shift (@Chelm_LPT_C) October 26, 2018

@EssexPoliceFSU deployed to an incident in #Chelmsford today, with @EPDogSection. A male attending a #Comiccon event in London was found in possession of a number of imitation weapons. Suitable advice has been given as to how they should be carried to not cause unnecessary alarm. pic.twitter.com/ygisHuGda6 — Essex Police FSU (@EssexPoliceFSU) October 26, 2018

‘People are reminded to be sensible when attending fancy dress events as items may look real to the untrained eye.

‘Advice was given to the man.’

Comic-Con started on Saturday and will wrap up on Sunday.

Attendees are known to dress up and the events ‘costume weapons and props rules’ states: ‘Cosplay is welcome in all parts of the show however it is necessary to set some restrictions as it is a family friendly event.

‘Note in particular that metal blades (sharp or blunt), working projectile weapons, and wooden or metal bats & paddles are all forbidden.’

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