Schools and nurseries in the west of Edinburgh were locked down on Monday morning amid an ongoing incident which saw armed police being deployed in the city. Armed police were called to Calder before 9am on Tuesday to reports of a man "with a bladed weapon". The incident has since been contained, and Police Scotland confirmed they were not treating it as terror related.

Nearby schools and early learning centres were closed on police advice, Edinburgh City Council said, and are due to reopen this afternoon. A spokesperson said: "We’re aware of an ongoing incident in the Calder area of the city and are continuing to support Police Scotland. Following police advice, all council buildings nearby, including schools and early years centres, were closed to the public.

"We’re hoping to be able to reopen these shortly and are continuing to keep parents and local residents updated. Please contact the police on 101 if you have any information or concerns."

Local Abigail Clegg, said the armed man had "tried to get into the school, the nursery" before he was chased away, the Press Association reports.

She told the outlet: "He [then] went into the shop. He ransacked the shop, the shop’s a mess. He chased the people that work in the shop with a knife."

A police cordon has been put around Cobbinshaw House, where the man is believed to have gone. William Ramsay said he believed the man with the weapons had entered the stairwell of his building.

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He said: "He smashed the local shop, possibly stabbed two people, unconfirmed. Armed police, dogs, been here for about two hours."

Mary Todd, who lives in Cobbinshaw House, said she heard the man shouting before she and her daughter left the building by the back door.

Pictures from the scene of the incident showed at least six police vehicles outside Cobbinshaw House, a tower block of flats, as well as armed police officers.

Footage has been circulating on social media showing a man walking in the area holding two large knives, as well as a shop which had been damaged.

The man wore a cream-coloured top with a black backpack. A man of a similar description was later seen at Cobbinshaw House, looking out of a window.