A MASKED man armed with a large hunting knife was Tasered by police after walking through the streets of Brixham.

Eight police officers swooped on a churchyard to make an arrest following calls from members of the public who saw a man wearing a balaclava and carrying what was believed to be a 10-inch blade. One officer was said to have been punched in the face during the incident

A shop was told to shut and lock its doors as police searched the area on Saturday night.

A 32-year-old man from the fishing port was arrested for alleged assault and possession of an offensive weapon.

The alarm was raised by Nick Smith (pictured), a father-of-two from Torquay, who had been visiting his in-laws when the knifeman came up to him.

The 29-year-old, who works for a recovery company, said: "I just left the house where my in-laws live. I was in Knick Knack Lane on my way to pick up the car when this figure walked towards me.

"He was wearing a balaclava. As I walked past him I noticed he was holding a 10-inch blade.

"I did a double take. He stopped and stared at me. We looked at each other. Then he carried on.

"When I picked up my wife and kids he came past me again and stared at me again. That's when I called the police."

Mr Smith said he did not feel fear at the time but later realised what could have happened..

He said: "Here I was on my own with some man with a knife wearing a balaclava in a dark alley. I'm relieved.

"If by calling the police I helped prevent a crime, I'm pleased."

The incident happened between 8pm and 8.30pm on Saturday.

Police said they received a call from a member of the public at 8.20pm and sent one officer to carry out a search of the area around St Mary's Square near St Mary's Church.

A police spokesman said the officer could not locate the man but more calls from members of the public were soon received.

The police spokesman added: "A man with a knife was seen entering the church graveyard off Drew Street.

"One officer was called out and was immediately confronted by the offender who punched him."

The police spokesman added: "More officers were called to contain him in the churchyard.

"He threatened the officers with the knife and a Taser had to be deployed so he could be detained and arrested."

The police spokesman confirmed that eight officers were involved in the arrest.

Jon Selby, the assistant manager of the Spar shop opposite where the incident happened, said he received a call from police warning him that man wearing a balaclava and carrying a knife was in the area and that it was safer to close the shop.

He said: "It's not the first time we've had knife incidents in the area but it was the first time the police called to ask us to close the shop as a precaution. They acted very quickly and it was nice of them to give us some advance warning.

"They called us back about 30 minutes later to say they had Tasered a man. It was all done very quickly. We just saw the man being bundled into a van in handcuffs." Mr Selby said he and two other members of staff were in the store at the time.

A man was taken to Torquay police station for interviews after being arrested for assault and possession of a knife and was still in custody last night.