Armed gardai swarm Ballina street amid reports of 'hostage' situation

Gardai in Ballina, Co Mayo, have closed off a street in the centre of the town after what appears to be a hostage situation in a small grocery store.

Members of the Garda Emergency Response Unit and other garda units were called to an incident at a shop on Market Square in the centre of Ballina around 7.15pm this evening where reports emerged that people in the store were prevented from leaving.

The busy Market Square area of the town was closed off as gardaí secured the area to assess the situation.

The shop, located directly across from the Tesco supermarket, is a small supermarket specialising in eastern European and oriental foods.

It is understood that two women and a male are in the shop this evening.

A spokesperson for An Garda Siochána confirmed that gardaí were present at the scene of an ongoing incident but would not comment further other than to say that this is a 'live operation'.