A 52-year-old man was today being held on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and false imprisonment following the death of a man at a driver recruitment agency.

The Cardiff man was arrested after the police inquiry moved to an address in the city last night.

South Wales Police officers attended a property in Penrhos Crescent, in the Rumney area of Cardiff, in connection with the earlier incident which happened about 20 miles away.

The road was cordoned off and residents were either not allowed back into the street or told to remain in their homes, for several hours.

A force spokeswoman said: "Armed police were deployed to the scene as a precaution in order to ensure the safety of members of the public and officers at the scene.

"A search of the property was conducted and the property was found to be empty.

"We can confirm there was no hostage situation at the property.’’ A Gwent Police spokesman said that while inquiries were made in Cardiff, the arrest was later made by Gwent officers.

New Inn ward councillor Graham Smith said he was shocked to hear about the death at Driver Line.

He said: "New Inn is a quiet residential area which is mainly pretty peaceful.’’ New Panteg Rugby Football Club is on the same estate as the agency.

Chairman of the club, Maurice Morgan, said there had been a lot of police activity in the area: "We're in close proximity and there's been police cars, police with dogs and we've had the police helicopter overhead.

"Where it happened is a big industrial estate. It's generally a safe area.’’