A 38-YEAR-OLD man and three youths have been arrested on firearms charges following a siege in Liverpool.

Armed police sealed off Lambeth Road, Kirkdale, shortly after reports that a gang was causing trouble and that someone was brandishing a gun.

The four were arrested and officers recovered a machete, a baton and what is believed to be a ball-bearing gun.

Trained marksmen were there within minutes of the alarm being raised at 7am.

There were about eight marked police cars at the scene, some blocking off the road at its junctions with Westminster Road and Stanley Road. Fire engines were also standing by.

A member of the public called police to say four youths were setting fire hydrants off.

The caller said they believed one had a gun.

Just after 9am, two hours after the drama started, the four suspects came out of the house.

They were arrested and taken for questioning.

It is not known if they had a gun, but police search teams then went into the property and began to search for a weapon.

A Merseyside police spokeswoman said: “Four people have been arrested and are currently awaiting questioning.

“A call from a concerned member of the public lead us to believe the occupants of the house may have had a firearm. We treat all calls of this nature very seriously.”