ARMED police arrested a man outside a hotel in connection with a series of robberies.
Just before midnight on Friday, Northumbria Police officers, in co-operation with officers from Durham and Cleveland constabularies, arrested a 28-year-old man at the Blue Bell Hotel in the Marton area of Middlesborough.
The man was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit robberies. The arrest was pre-planned and carried out by firearms officers.
A police spokeswoman said no-one was injured and at no point was any member of the public at risk during the arrest and the man was in police custody.
Steve Carter was manager on duty at the Marton Hotel at the time of the arrest.
He said: “Two CID officers came and to assure us there was nothing to be alarmed about. I didn’t see the arrest, but outside there were dogs in the car park and I saw two armed police. It’s hard to say how many police there, although definitely more than a dozen. They said police had worked together across the whole of the North-East to make the arrest. Our guests weren’t alarmed, some even poked their head outside to see what was going on.”