THIS is the moment armed police surprised the landlord of a pub after a "hoax" call reported a gun-wielding man was holding a woman hostage.
Nick Tyrie was asleep in the flat over the north London pub when he heard his name being shouted and his bedroom door hammered on.
He said he was greeted by about 20 officers from the Metropolitan Police, some of whom were carrying weapons.
The 42-year-old told the Evening Standard he thinks the reason behind the fake call was due to a repeat broadcast of Four In A Bed on Channel 4, and an unhappy viewer.
The reality show sees B&B owners visit each other's set up and rate their stay. The repeat saw the New Inn, Mr Tyrie's pub in St John's Wood featured.
He called the police officers "really nice chaps" when they saw the look on his face and realised he was not a threat.
He told the newspaper: "I opened the door and they had all the kit to batter it down. Their guns were all aimed at me. They were big guns, like assassin rifles. They were all in position on my staircase.
“There were eight armed police in my flat but there were about 14 more involved downstairs."
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CCTV caught the moment the officers burst in to the pub on Allitsen Road, just before 1pm last Thursday.
My Tyrie slammed the waste to police's time and added: “I’m fine now but I was raided in my own home – I’m a law-abiding citizen. It was pretty horrific. All my customers were waiting to see who would be carted out in handcuffs.”
Another contestant from the show, Jennifer McGirr, 61, thinks she too was targeted after calling another B&B "grim" as she faced abuse phonecalls and her windows were smashed.
A spokeswoman for the Met would not confirm if the call was being treated as a hoax, and said: "It's not something we can categorically say, so we are not confirming."
She added: "Police in Westminster received a call at 11:23hrs on Thursday, 6 October from a man stating he was in possession of a firearm and holding a woman against her will at a hotel in Allitsen Road, NW8.
"Officers, including firearms officers, attended the venue and completed a search of the premises. No persons were located and no offences were established.
"Work was undertaken to try and trace the caller but this yielded no results."
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