A MAN was rushed to hospital last night after an armed siege brought chaos to Darlington.

Armed police surrounded an address in North Road for more than two hours after reports that there was a man with a gun inside.

Dozens of officers were called to the house, near the Morrison's supermarket, at about 9pm.

Chief Superintendent Michael Banks, of Durham Police, was also at the scene.

Traffic was brought to a standstill at the junction of North Road and Whessoe Road as the armed police officers moved into the area and surrounded the property.

It is believed that two men were in the house that was the focus of police attention.

Reports last night suggested there had been an altercation between the two men at the address.

A call was made to the police saying that one of them was armed, although no witnesses saw a gun.

A large area around North Road was cordoned off during the siege.

All traffic was eventually directed down Whessoe Road and away from the scene.

During the stand-off, officers trained their weapons on the house and the public was kept away.

At about 11.15pm, police officers forced their way into the house, then sent in trained dogs to explore the property.

One man in his sixties was arrested on suspicion of making threats to kill.

He was immediately taken to hospital.

An ambulance was called to take the man, who has not been named, from the house to Darlington Memorial Hospital following fears he may have suffered a fit.

He was later taken to Darlington police station and is expected to be interviewed by police this morning.

A police spokesman stressed that there were no gunshots fired during the incident.

The police spokesman said: "We mounted a firearms operation after reports that a man had a gun in a property in North Road.

"As a result of that operation a man in his mid-sixties has been arrested."

It is not known if a gun was recovered from the property.