A MAN was Tasered by police just moments before he was arrested over an alleged incident involving a machete.

Police, including the NPAS helicopter, police dogs and armed officers, were called to the Sterte Avenue area of Poole on Saturday morning.

The incident took place near the railway tracks, with passengers between Bournemouth and Wareham delayed for around an hour.

A spokesperson for Dorset Police said a 29-year-old man of no fixed abode was Tasered by officers and arrested on suspicion of possession of a bladed article and criminal damage.

He was detained under section two of the Mental Health Act.

As reported by the Daily Echo, the hunt for the suspect ended when 16-month-old Irish setter, Murphy, began barking at the railway tracks behind owner Tracey Jones' home in Sterte Avenue.

The dog, who belongs to Poole schoolboy, Jack Jones, continued to bark at the hedge, alerting police to the site.

Tracey said: "There were armed police outside the house.

"Murphy was in the garden and he started barking, which is really unusual for him, and he wouldn't listen to me when I was trying to get him back inside."

She added: "His hackles were up, which never happens as he's such a happy and friendly dog.

"He was going into the hedge, barking and barking, and just wouldn't listen to me at all.

"That's when my little boy Jack said he could see somebody."

Station staff reportedly told passengers their train was delayed because a "man with a machete" had got onto railway tracks and was "threatening to kill people".

A British Transport Police spokesperson said: "Officers were called to the line close to Poole station on Saturday, July 4 following reports of a trespasser around 10am.

"A man has been arrested on suspicion of trespass and malicious obstruction."

Dorset Police continue to investigate alongside British Transport Police.

Witnesses or anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101, quoting incident number 4:153.