UPDATE: 14.36pm

Sirens and a police helicopter hovering over Newport woke up neighbours after a woman allegedly stole money from someone near Broad Street, Pill, just before midnight.

When she was challenged, two men with her started making threats, according to police, who also said one of her companions had what looked like a handgun.

Police arrested a 26-year-old woman and a 36-year-old man from Newport, finding an imitation gun during a search. The pair are now in police custody although the second man is still at large. The victim was not injured.

Pill residents described a chaotic night with roads closed off, including Commercial Road, and the police helicopter circling overhead as well as vans and cars.

Jackir Azad, from Asian grocery shop Mas Bazaar on nearby Tredegar Street, said: “It’s Ramadan and I was going to the mosque at about 3am, but I couldn’t get past because police had closed the road .

"I had to go the long way around for early morning prayers. There were a lot of police; I could see maybe around 10 or 12.

“I was quite worried because I didn’t know what was going on. They didn’t tell us anything, so it was quite a scary situation.”

Akim Soetan said: “From my house I could hear the police helicopter and when I came back from the mosque I could see the police jeep driving around.

"It must have been just after midnight. My wife noticed as well and was saying, ‘That’s the helicopter’.”

Mani Busuttil, who runs the Second Hand Warehouse behind Pill Asda, said: “Police taped the shop off and I had to check it afterwards. They closed all around the corner as far as the mosque and post office.

“The thing is, this kind of thing goes on a lot.”

A worker in Chow Taxis on Commercial Road, who preferred not to be named, said: “The lady working overnight said there were people with guns and somebody called the police.

"Then there was armed police running around for a few hours. They asked her to evacuate the property just in case, but in the end they didn’t evacuate.

"I think it all finished just before 4am. It’s very unusual in this country – in South Africa it might be normal, but around here it’s not.”

A taxi driver added: “I arrived 20 minutes after it finished and it was all clear. All I heard was the operator told me the road was all closed off.

“It’s unbelievable.”

Another neighbour added: “Crime in Pill is rife, but this was more than just normal. The police do go overboard sometimes though.”

UPDATE: 10.22am

ARMED police were called to a house in Pill last night after a man was reported as having a handgun.

Gwent Police were called  to Broad Street in Pill at around 11.50pm after a report that alleged a woman had stolen a small amount of money from a man and when challenged two men who were with the woman made threats.

One of the men was also reported as having a handgun in his possession. The victim of the theft was unhurt.

Police, including officers from the armed response unit, attended the scene and searches for the offenders resulted in the arrest of a 27 year old woman and a 36 year old man. An imitation hand gun was also been recovered.

Both are from the Newport area and both remain in police custody at this time. Enquiries are on-going to find the second man.

Anyone who witnessed the incident or has any information is asked to contact Gwent Police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 quoting log 584 23/06/15.