A GUN was apparently fired on the street in Chippenham on Monday night, sparking a huge police operation involving armed officers and the police helicopter.

Their thorough search of the area found no trace of the man with what appeared to be a handgun whom witnesses saw in the Lowden Hill area, and then making off down Audley Road.

Wiltshire Police have today (Wednesday) released a CCTV image of the man they would like to question in connection with the reports, and are asking people for help to track him down.

A Force spokesman said: "At around 10.30pm on Monday night we received a report of a man carrying and discharging a weapon, believed to be some sort of firearm, in the Lowden Hill area of Chippenham.

"Nobody was injured and at this stage nobody has been arrested.

"We have released CCTV footage of the suspect and would like to hear from anyone who recognises him, or who may have seen him in the area on Monday night.

"We know that he left the scene and walked down Audley Road, so are particularly keen to hear from anyone there who saw or heard anything suspicious."

Det Sgt Rob Blake, from Central CID, said: “This is an extremely serious incident and detectives are working tirelessly to locate the offender in this investigation.

“At this stage we know the weapon was not firing live ammunition, but we do need to speak to this suspect urgently. Please look carefully at the image. I know he has his face covered, but you may recognise an item of his clothing or you may believe you saw him on Monday night.

“This is a fast-moving enquiry and the team have been carrying out detailed enquiries, including examining CCTV from the scene and carrying out forensic testing.”

Anyone who can assist the investigation, including anyone living on either road who has private CCTV or was driving down those roads and has dash cam footage, should call Wiltshire Police on 101, quoting log 309 of March 16. If you would rather give your information anonymously, then you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.