Man wielding sword and 'making threats' shot by police with rubber bullets

'We were all so shocked to see what we saw,' eyewitness says

The incident unfolded outside a row of shops in Pitsea on Saturday (Google Streetview)

Police took down a man wielding a sword and “making threats” outside a parade of shops in Essex with rubber bullets.

The 50-year-old was hit with a baton round as members of the public took cover in nearby shops.

CCTV footage showed armed police pulling up and aiming non-lethal baton guns at the man, as he stood with both arms outstretched and the sword in his right hand.

Witnesses described the man dropping to the floor and being detained on Saturday afternoon.

Rupan Shan, who saw the incident unfold from a nearby branch of Costcutter, said the man ignored orders to drop his weapon before being shot.

“We saw a guy outside with a big sword and we called the police straight away,” he told Essex Live. ”We were told to lock up the shop by police so for our customers safety we locked them inside too there were children here, there was a 10-year old boy in the shop at the time but he seemed quite calm.

“We were all so shocked to see what we saw.”

A spokesperson for Essex Police said officers were called to Pitsea on Saturday afternoon “to concerns for the welfare of a man in the Rectory Road area of Pitsea who was reported to have a sword and was making threats”.

“Officers attended and detained a 50-year-old man from Basildon who has been arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon,” he added. The man remains in custody.