ARMED police swoop twice in an area of Weymouth in one night, seizing a knife and air weapon from a vehicle in one incident.

Residents in the Park District and surrounding streets reported seeing and hearing police activity including armed officer sand the dog unit.

In the first incident, Dorset Police said officers responded to reports that a vehicle, a Peugeot 307, had been taken without consent in Weymouth.

A force spokesman said a man was located on Carlton Road North at around 7.30pm on Wednesday.

It was not an armed incident but the spokesman said armed officers were involved in this 'routine arrest' as they can be utilised as regular territorial police as and when required.

A 39-year-old Weymouth man arrested on suspicion of taking of a motor vehicle without consent who had been assisting officers with enquiries was later released without charge.

In a second incident, police - including armed units - were called at 3.30am on Thursday to a report of a fail-to-stop collision involving a parked car on Ranelagh Road in Weymouth.

A spokesman said: Officers located the vehicle at the junction of Walpole Street and Hardwick Street.

"A search of the vehicle was carried out and it is reported that a knife and air weapon were seized.

"No one was injured during the incident.

"Two men aged in their 30s, one man aged in his 40s and a woman aged in her 30s, all from the Dorchester and Weymouth area, have been arrested on suspicion of possession of an imitation firearm in a public place and possession of an offensive weapon in a public place. They have all been released under investigation."

Dorste Police said a 48-year-old man from the Dorchester area has been charged with possession of a controlled Class A drug and is due to appear before Weymouth Magistrates’ Court on Monday, May 8.