Armed units and a police helicopter attended an incident in Bury St Edmunds today following reports that a man had been seen with a weapon at a doctors’ surgery.

Police were called at 10.20am to Victoria Surgery in Victoria Street in the town and a number of officers, including armed units, attended the scene.

Suffolk police confirmed that a man was arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm.

The East of England Ambulance Service was also called after a woman was found to have sustained minor injuries to her face.

An ambulance and two ambulance officers were dispatched to the scene, but were stood down on arrival.

No weapon is believed to have been used and the armed units and the National Police Air Service (NPAS) helicopter were requested to stand down.

The police helicopter was not required to land.

Police confimed that the arrested man was taken to Bury St Edmunds Police Investigation Centre for questioning.

A spokeswoman for Victoria Surgery confirmed that an incident had occured at the surgery this morning, and that police attended.

However the surgery did not wish to issue a formal comment at this stage.

A spokesman for NHS West Suffolk Clinical Commissioning Group added: “We can confirm that there was an incident at Victoria Surgery in Bury St Edmunds today.

“NHS staff work hard for their community and any form of assault, either physical or verbal, is never acceptable.”

A spokesman for the East of England Ambulance Service said: “We received a call at 10.21am to reports of an incident at Victoria Surgery, Victoria Street, Bury St Edmunds.

“The East of England Ambulance Service Trust dispatched an ambulance and two ambulance officers to the scene. On arrival, we were stood down.”

The surgery, which serves approximately 11,000 patients around the town and surrounding villages, posted an message on its webpage informing patients that it would be closed for a time following the incident.

It remained open for pre-booked patients only.

The NHS says that it operates a zero tolerance policy with regard to violence and abuse.