A man has been charged after bringing a gun into a polling station in Northern Ireland.

The 59-year-old was arrested in Greencastle, County Tyrone, during the West Tyrone byelection on Thursday.

He was charged with carrying a firearm with criminal intent and possession of a firearm or ammunition in suspicious circumstances. He was due in court in Dungannon on Friday morning.

Police in Omagh received a report of a man acting suspiciously at a polling station on Crockanboy Road in Greencastle just before 1pm on Thursday.

Northern Ireland’s chief electoral officer, Virginia McVea, said a man had “approached the poll staff in Greencastle polling station and produced what appeared to be a handgun from his pocket”.

She added: “He engaged with staff then left the polling station without any weapon being discharged. The way that the staff dealt with it, I understand that other members of the public may have been unaware of the incident.”