The presence of armed police on the street in the heart of the island’s financial district has raised eyebrows.

Two 4x4 vehicles containing armed officers were spotted on several mornings and early afternoons during this week, parked on Athol Street close to its junction with Prospect Hill, Douglas.

The spaces where they were parked opposite the NatWest bank were coned off when they were not there.

A police spokesman declined to comment on the presence of armed officers.

He said: ’We don’t discuss on-going operations. We have armed police for operations and training.

’There is no risk to the public at this time.’

Chief Constable Gary Roberts insisted it was all ’routine’. The training and deployment of armed officers is becoming routine everywhere across the British Isles, he pointed out.

Former police inspector Derek Flint posted on a forums site: ’Armed cops on the streets, on a regular basis, is newsworthy and far from routine.

’We were always pretty good at keeping these sort of jobs under the radar.