ARMED police swooped to a block of flats after reports of youths armed with samurai swords, knives, machetes and tasers running riot in the streets of Southampton.

Around 30 armed teens thought to be between 15 and 18-years-old chased each other around during the “shocking” incident which took place near the junction of Montague Avenue and Walton Road in Sholing.

Last night police used special powers to stop and search anyone across the Sholing, Thornhill and Weston areas of Southampton in a bid to crackdown on further serious violence.

Armed police who swarmed the area to carry out enquiries recovered a haul of weapons following the incident which happened at around 8pm on Thursday as awful.

One Montague Avenue resident, who wished to remain unnamed, described the ordeal as “awful”.

She added: “The teens were all carrying weapons. Baseball bats, knives, crowbars and a taser which you could hear vibrating. I was shocked. I feel worried for my children and won’t let them outside. It’s intimidating.”

Another resident said: “I saw around five police cars. There were officers with guns. It was shocking. I didn’t expect to see them in this area.”

One witness added: “A group of lads ran past me with a samurai sword. They were all carrying weapons, machetes and a taser. They were shouting and screaming. Around nine youths bundled into a white 4x4 getaway car.

“Within seconds a police car arrived and sped after it towards the Botley Road.”

According to police no one has been arrested or injured following the large scale disorder incident.

A police spokesperson said: “Yesterday evening (Sept 26) we responded to a number of reports from residents in Sholing describing a large scale disorder incident involving young people with weapons. We conducted a search and we recovered a knife, a sword and a machete. Officers patrolling will be able to stop and search anyone in the area between 4pm on Friday and 3am on Saturday.”