A chance sighting of a suspected drug deal taking place in Hucknall inadvertently led police to a selection of weapons.

Officers from the county knife crime team were patrolling the Hucknall area when they spotted two people acting suspiciously.

Following what looked like a drug deal, cops approached the suspects in Titchfield Street, who both promptly ran away.

Within minutes of that initial sighting, at around 1.20pm on Wednesday (5 April), officers found two men matching their description in Yorke Street.

A machete was discovered hidden nearby, while searches of the suspects uncovered quantities of cannabis, multiple 'burner' phones and cash.

As a direct consequence of this, police carried out warrants at two addresses in Hucknall and Sutton in Ashfield, which led to further discoveries.

A friction lock baton, a sword and other weapons were all seized from inside one of the addresses.

Around £15,000 worth of designer clothing and large amounts of cash were also found – along with more cannabis and various drug paraphernalia.

Both men, aged 20 and 23, were arrested on suspicion of conspiring to supply Class B drugs and possession of a knife in a public place.

The 20-year-old suspect was also arrested for possession of an offensive weapon in a private place, possession of criminal property, money laundering and possession of cannabis.

It is now against the law for friction lock batons, otherwise known as 'telescopic truncheons', to be kept in a private place or to be sold anywhere in the UK.

Samurai swords, zombie knives and knuckledusters are also among the weapons it is illegal to own, under the Offensive Weapons Act, which came into effect on 14 July 2021.

Sergeant Jonny Groves, of Nottinghamshire Police's county knife crime team, said: "When we carry out these proactive patrols, it is with the intention of making discoveries exactly like this, so we're very pleased with this result.

"By being out on the streets and having eyes on the ground in targeted areas, we're able to spot suspicious behaviour that we might have otherwise missed, which does also often lead us to other offending too.

"While our ultimate focus is tackling knife crime, we know that people who tend to be knife-carriers are also involved in wider criminality, such as drug activity.

"On this occasion, we sighted a suspected drug deal taking place, pursued and detained two suspects, and were later able to seize multiple weapons and other items.

"It is important that people realise it is illegal to have offensive weapons, like friction lock batons, in their homes, and that this is an arrestable offence."

Anyone who has any information about this incident is asked to call the police on 101, quoting incident 357 of 5 April 2023, or to contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.