ARMED police were deployed after reports a man who had disturbed the owner of a property had been spotted holding a handgun.

Specialist officers from Sussex Police attended the scene in St Anthony's Avenue, Eastbourne at 10.30pm on Wednesday.

The suspect was arrested nearby. No shots were fired and nobody was hurt. 
 
A 20-year-old man, Callum Stuart Dawes, of Jevington Gardens, Eastbourne, was subsequently charged with possessing an imitation firearm, namely a gas gun, and two counts of possessing cocaine, a class A controlled drug.
 
He was released on conditional bail and is due to appear before Hastings magistrates on Wednesday, 15 April.