Man woken up at Scottish Wetherspoon's sparks 'terror incident' as 30 police respond

A man who fell asleep in a pub sparked fears for 'terrorist incident' after he reportedly reacted angrily when he was woken up - with 30 police sent out to deal with him.

The man, aged 39, dozed off at a table in a JD Wetherspoon pub in Glasgow - but when he was asked to leave, he reacted so aggressively that a panic button was pressed.

More than 30 police officers and at least 16 squad cars descended on the Sir John Moore pub on Argyle Street, on Tuesday evening, and arrested the man.

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The alert meant all of the emergency responders arrived at once shortly after 8pm.

ore than 30 police officers andat least 16 squad cars descended on the Sir John Moore pub on Argyle Streetore than 30 police officers andat least 16 squad cars descended on the Sir John Moore pub on Argyle Street
ore than 30 police officers andat least 16 squad cars descended on the Sir John Moore pub on Argyle Street

Officers can trigger the panic alarm if they are threatened verbally or fear physical violence, prompting nearby colleagues to react.

Witnesses described watching officers pile into the pub, with some estimating that there were close to 20 police vehicles parked outside.

Paul Carroll, 62, a labourer from Maryhill, told the Evening Times: "I thought it was a terrorist incident when all the police cars turned up outside.

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"There were 15 on this side of the street and four on the other and two others that left.

"It was crazy.

"I couldn't believe my eyes as they all ran into the pub."

And Carol Qua, 57, a catering supervisor from Castlemilk, added: "Someone could be getting murdered somewhere in the city and there's 20 cop cars here for this.

"It was unbelievable."

A spokesman for JD Wetherspoon said: "Circumstances meant that more police attended the incident than normally would have been expected.

"If Police Scotland felt that was the appropriate response, then we will support them in that."

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A spokesman for Police Scotland said: "Police Scotland can confirm a 39-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a disturbance within premises on Argyle Street in Glasgow.

"We were made aware at around 8.30pm on Tuesday February 11."

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