ARMED police are said to have been involved in an operation in Southampton today.

Residents have reported seeing a large amount of police activity at a block of flats at the junction of Waterloo Road and Park Road just after 9.30am.

A couple living a few hundred yards down the road said they saw three police cars at the scene.

A Hampshire Police spokesman said: "Police detained a man at an address on Park Road in Southampton this morning as part of an on-going investigation.

"This incident is being contained locally and there is no cause for concern for the wider public.

"For operational reasons we cannot disclose any further detail at this stage."

A woman living directly opposite the three-storey block of flats, one of which is boarded up, added: "I saw a lot of police but I don't know what was going on."

Another resident said armed police had been seen at one of the flats at the junction.

A police van drew up outside the flats but drove away shortly afterwards, leaving officers inside the building. A police car entered Park Road shortly afterwards but left almost immediately.

Hampshire Police have not so far released any information about the incident.