Updated: STUNNED residents watched as a gun-wielding police squad swooped on a quiet York street to arrest two men.

The drama unfolded in the Clementhorpe area of the city yesterday morning, as teams of officers surrounded a car and ordered two men to lie on the ground as automatic rifles were trained on them.

People living in nearby streets were prevented from entering or leaving their homes as the men were arrested after what North Yorkshire Police said were “reports of suspicious activity at local premises”.

But the force was today staying tight-lipped on the reasons for the armed operation which left residents in Cherry Street and Darnborough Street bewildered, although witnesses said they had heard officers at the scene say the arrests were in connection with suspected conspiracy and armed robbery.

One of them captured on camera the moment the men were handcuffed and led to police vans as he watched from the window of his home, while another said the scene was “like something out of Miami Vice”.

The armed teams were called to Cherry Street shortly before 10am yesterday. The men were arrested and taken to Fulford Road Police Station while officers continued to stand guard over a black Nissan Navara car.

Witness Malcolm Waudby was returning to his home in Cherry Street as the swoop took place.

He said: “All I could hear were police shouting ‘get down on the floor’ to these men, who were lying on the ground in the middle of the street with guns pointed at them.

“The armed officers were on the scene within minutes and I was told I couldn’t go into my house until they had gone.

“I was so surprised to see something like this happening in my own street – the police seemed to be everywhere and it was quite shocking to watch.

“We weren’t told anything about what was happening – we just saw these men being arrested and then a car being taken away on a trailer.

“A lot of elderly people live around here and they must have wondered what was going on.”

Another witness, who lives in Darnborough Street but asked not to be named, said: “The police were refusing to let cars or pedestrians down the street and we could see at least half-a-dozen officers carrying guns – it was like a scene out of a movie.

“We watched from our windows to check it out and at first we thought it might just have been an exercise, but it was soon clear it was more than that.

“It was probably all over in about half an hour, but it just seemed so strange to be watching something like this happening – it’s the first time I’ve ever seen anything like it around here.”

North Yorkshire Police would not confirm why the arrests were made. A spokesman said two men remained in custody and were being questioned.