Gatwick Airport: Man armed with kitchen knives arrested Published duration 3 June 2019

image caption Gatwick Airport said the South Terminal baggage reclaim was temporarily evacuated

A man armed with two kitchen knives has been arrested at Gatwick Airport.

The 30-year-old tried to pass through a staff search area in the South Terminal just before 02:00 BST openly carrying a knife in each hand, police said.

The area was secured and he was challenged by armed police officers who used a Taser to detain him.

He was arrested on suspicion of possessing offensive weapons and making threats to kill, and has been detained under the Mental Health Act.

Police said it was not being treated as terrorist-related and that the man, from Crawley, West Sussex, was not a travelling passenger.

Gatwick Airport said the terminal's baggage reclaim area was temporarily evacuated as a precaution.

Supt Justin Burtenshaw, from Sussex Police, said: "This incident was dealt with swiftly and no members of the public or police were harmed."