Police swarm cops and robbers party

SOUTHEND, England, Sept. 11 (UPI) -- Police swarmed a Southend, England, office building after a cops and robbers dress-up party was mistaken for a real robbery by a witness.

Detective Chief Inspector Tim Raymond said armed police in bullet proof vests rushed to the scene after a witness reported two men in dark clothes bringing guns -- which turned out to be toys -- into the building, The Daily Mail reported Thursday.

Raymond said police quickly determined the guns were fake but he criticized the Converso Contact Center team building event as "potentially a very dangerous situation."

"The two men involved clearly did not think about the implications of their actions," he said of the darkly-dressed men with the fake guns. "This was potentially a very dangerous situation and, as such, armed officers were deployed."

"It was quickly established the guns were imitations, however, the outcome could have been very different," he said.

Jane Moores, a spokeswoman for the company, apologized for "any unnecessary distress that this incident may have caused to the public."

"We have obviously learned from this experiences and have taken steps to ensure this does not happen again," she said.