STUNNED onlookers watched as armed police pounced on a quiet Port Glasgow residential street.

Firearms officers swooped on Kelburn Terrace as part of an early morning operation and arrested a man.

The team were spotted in the area at 5am on Wednesday.

Around 10 officers, all clad in black protective gear and some carrying riot shields, trooped down the street as horrified residents watched from their windows.

Two officers could be seen taking cover behind a van with their weapons trained on the front door of the flats.

Other officers meanwhile took up positions in a garden, with their sights trained on the back of the building.

Videos of the scene have been circulating locally on social media.

The officers, who arrived in a fleet of at least four vehicles, entered a block of flats on the street and detained a man.

Detectives remain tight-lipped about details of the investigation.

But officers at Greenock CID confirmed that as a result of the swoop a man has been charged with assault and animal cruelty offences.

He now faces prosecution, with a full report sent to the fiscal.

Detective Constable Anthony Hainey told the Telegraph: "This was a pre-planned operation.

"A 35-year-old man has been charged with assault and offences relating to animal cruelty."

The arrested man is expected to appear in court at a later date.