A MAN has appeared in court following an incident in West Howe that saw armed police take to the streets.

Stuart Roderick Johnston, 35, of no fixed abode, appeared in front of Bournemouth Magistrates' Court today charged with attempted robbery and possession of a bladed article.

The court was told that the charges were indictable-only and Johnston was remanded in custody to appear at Bournemouth Crown Court on Thursday, May 30.

No application for bail was made.

A manhunt in the Verney Close and Moorside Road area of West Howe began after a man allegedly tried to drag people out of a car at knifepoint at Wickes in the nearby Turbary Retail Park at around 4.15pm.

Police deployed a taser gun in the garden of a residential property and made an arrest.