A man has been arrested and a firearm has been recovered after an attempted robbery in Manchester city centre.

At around 12.15pm this afternoon, Saturday, police were called to an alarm activation at a business on Quay Street.

A man had reportedly tried to steal items from a Tesco Express nearby before making off from the scene.

It was said that he had a weapon on him.

Officers from Greater Manchester Police's specialist operation branch arrived and reportedly quickly identified the man in question.

As officer arrived, the suspect was said to have pointed a firearm at them in an attempt to evade capture.

A man in his 30s was arrested on suspicion of robbery, firearm offences and wanted on recall to prison.

He remains in custody for questioning.

Assistant Chief Constable Rick Jackson said: “The responding officers did a brilliant job, their swift and decisive actions made sure that a potentially dangerous individual was apprehended.

“This is an isolated incident and although the weapon we recovered was an imitation, at the time, the responding officers were not meant to know this, as it looked like a viable firearm up close.

“I am pleased to report that no injuries were sustained to any member of the public or any of our officers.

“Our job is to keep you safe, and this is why we have specialist officers patrolling hotspot areas across the force.

"Our aim is to build trust and confidence in those who live and work in Greater Manchester, and I feel like our actions today have gone a long way towards doing that.”