Two terrified mums and their young children took refuge in a KM office this lunchtime after spotting one man chasing another carrying what appeared to be a gun.

An armed police response unit attended Northdown Road, Cliftonville, following the incident shortly after 1pm today.

The women had spotted one man running in panic "crying his eyes out" and another chasing him.

He had appeared to take refuge behind a bus stop.

His pursuer started to draw something out of his pocket.

It looked like a black handle and the way the man had kept the object close to his body gave the women the impression it was a gun.

A police vehicle had passed by and the man being chased shouted: "It's the police, it's the police."

Desperately frightened for their children, the mums crossed the road away from the men and headed for safety into the nearest open doorway - the Thanet Extra office.

A member of the KM staff called the police. Both men had run off by the time the first patrol arrived.

Then the armed response unit was scrambled from Maidstone.

The mums were so frightened by what had happened they asked not to be identified.

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