A man armed with two kitchen knives has been arrested at Gatwick Airport.

The 30-year-old tried to pass through a staff search area in the South Terminal just before 02:00 BST openly carrying a knife in each hand, police said.

The area was secured and he was challenged by armed police officers who used a Taser to detain him. He was arrested on suspicion of possessing offensive weapons and making threats to kill. Police said it was not being treated as terrorist-related.

Police said the man, from Crawley, West Sussex, was not a travelling passenger. Gatwick Airport said the terminal’s baggage reclaim area was temporarily evacuated as a precaution.

Supt Justin Burtenshaw, from Sussex Police, said: “This incident was dealt with swiftly and no members of the public or police were harmed.”