A man, understood to be from the North East, has been detained in Thailand on suspcion of firearms offences following an incident on New Year's Day. 

The British national has been arrested in connection with offences relating to possession of firearms and assault. 

Local media has named the man as Jamie Bryant, age 39. 

Bryant, thought to be from Darlington, is said to have attacked his friend in the back of a tuk-tuk on Monday, January 1 following a spat. 

The Northern Echo: How the local media has been reporting the incident.How the local media has been reporting the incident. (Image: The Phuket News)

The Foreign Office confirmed that they have been in contact with Thai authorities following the arrest of a British man in Phuket. 

Officers from the Kamala Police Station investigated the incident, with media reporting that the alleged assailant had fled the scene. 

It is reported that the Phuket Immigration Bureau later arrested the suspect at a hotel in the Wichit subdistrict of Phuket, where he was with his girlfriend. 

He then led police to the area where he had disposed of his firearm. 

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Police Colonel Somsak Thongkliang, superintendent of the Kamala Police Station, told the Phuket Express: "The suspect is a man with a muscular appearance, a muscular body, about 30 years old, and about 165 cm tall.

"He was reported to have used a gun to hit his foreigner friend in the head. He is believed to have escaped into the Soi Kamala area."

Authorities said he was facing charges of assault, possession of a firearm, and causing bodily harm.